Torn
by atoxiclullaby1
Summary: The 105th trainees' squad is nearing graduation but is surprised when they find Survey corps members staying with them in hiding. Jean decides to get over Mikasa and finds it easier than expected when he meets a new girl in the 105th, but will her love be stolen from him just like Mikasa's? And by certain traitors no less? Ok, my summaries suck I promise the story is better :)
1. Chapter 1

Year 851  
>It's been about half a year since Annie was captured and Reiner, Bertolt and Ymir supposedly returned to the latter's homeland. The Survey Corps retained custody of Eren Yeager and is currently preparing a new path to the breach in wall Maria from Karanese District with plans to seal the hole and retake wall Maria. Human kind has been unthreatened the last half year, with the colossal and armored titans having supposedly headed home and the beast titan having not appeared again. Even so, humankind has not yet recovered from previous disasters and believes the peace is short lived.<p>

"Woohoo!"  
>"Gaaah! Look out!"<br>"Aaah!" A series of screams and loud thuds and crashes could be heard from the 105th trainee's mess hall.  
>"Tsuna, you dumbass! That could have hit someone!"<br>"Oi, Oi. It was Daniel's fault that it got like that. Besides, you're just jealous you didn't come up with the idea in the first place."  
>"Making a table surfboard outa some logs an' a wood panel isn't exactly something to be jealous of! You coulda hit someone!"<br>"Well if you guys can't dodge a surfboard then how do ya expect to defeat titans?" The 105th trainees' squad was currently unsupervised as Keith Shadis was called to a meeting. Some trainees were taking the opportunity to goof off and enjoy the break from the overly harsh drill sergeant by making table surfboards and pushing each other across the mess hall on them.  
>"Hey, Daniel, you owe me another go! This time don't mess it up, you're getting me yelled at." There are four trainees involved with the table surfboards, Tsuna, Daniel, Hiro and Allen. Tsuna is a short girl with a light complexion, light blue eyes and abnormal white hair. Daniel is a slightly tall guy with a more muscular build, brown eyes and light brown hair. Hiro is a tall more gangly young man with blue eyes and light blond hair. Allen is on the shorter side and has an average build with dark brown hair and green eyes. They're some of the best to be found in the 105th trainees' squad.<br>"Alright, get on. Ready? 1, 2, 3, GO!" Daniel pushed the table surfboard with Tsuna on it and sent it flying down the middle of the mess hall.  
>"Haha. Yea!" Tsuna yelled, headed straight for the closed door at the front of the mess hall. Prepared to crash into the doors Tsuna finds herself surprised when they open and standing in front of her is none other than Keith Shadis himself, and some other, unfamiliar, people. You could see the instant regret on Tsuna's face as she was headed straight for said people. Behind her, her friends shared similar looks of dread and horror at the surprise appearance of the demon Shadis.<br>"Waaah!" Tsuna yelled as she neared the people in front of her. Said people were able to dodge Tsuna and the surfboard table and as such Tsuna went flying through the now open mess hall doors, down the stairs and crash landing on the ground.  
>"Itai…" Tsuna lays sprawled out in between logs and wood while she receives gawks from everyone but the demon whose giving her a death stare promising many head butts and lots of extra running.<br>"TSUNA! What the hell is the meaning of this?!" Shadis yells at her while the other onlookers stare with mixed expressions of surprise and disbelief. The others who were involved with the table surfboard immediately stand at attention.  
>"Didn't I tell you before that this is unacceptable?! Who else was involved?" Shadis turned towards the trainees still inside the hall and directs his glare towards Daniel, Hiro and Allen with a knowing look.<br>"She did it on her own, Sir" Hiro quickly tries to evade the blame.  
>"Y-yea, all by herself." Allen also tried to escape whatever cruel fate will accompany whoever is involved.<br>"Oh really?" Shadis asked with and all to knowing deathly look. Meanwhile Tsuna recovers from her crash landing and takes note of the people accompanying their drill sergeant. Judging by their uniform, they must be with the Survey Corps.  
>"Y-yes sir" they both replied.<br>"What about you Daniel?"  
>"I, uh, I was involved too sir" While reluctant, Daniel knows that there's no escaping being figured out if he were to lie so he opts to tell the truth in hopes of not incurring the demons wrath.<br>"Oh? At least one of you isn't as useless as the rest" Shadis states and then turns towards Tsuna who was spacing off watching a moth fly around.  
>"TSUNA!" Shadis startles Tsuna out of her day dreaming.<br>"Yes sir?" Tsuna now stands at attention too.  
>"Pay attention dammit! Do you want to piss me off?" Tsuna blinked in surprise.<br>"Uh, I was pretty sure you were already pretty pissed sir…" Tsuna answers with uncertainty.  
>"So you do want me to be pissed?!" He intensifies his death glare and Tsuna flinches back.<br>"N-no sir! It's just how things usually go when you catch us doing something like this. Th-though I'm not complaining, sir!" Tsuna stayed at attention but looked at the Survey Corps members out of the corner of her eye. I wonder what Sergeant is doing with members of the Survey Corps.  
>"It's your maggot's lucky day, I'm feeling rather generous. Daniel, Tsuna! Clean up this mess!" Shadis turned to look back at Hiro and Allen.<br>"You two, for blatantly lying to your commanding officer and abandoning your comrades you will have clean up duty for the next two weeks!" Hiro and Allen inwardly cursed themselves for being stupid enough to think they would actually get away with lying and without getting in trouble.  
>"Listen up everyone! I have an important announcement to make. A few members of the Survey Corps will be staying here undercover for a while. They will stay at the barracks with you and live amongst you. I expect things to go smoothly, and for no trouble to be started." He directs his gaze towards Tsuna and Daniel. Tsuna smiled and waved while Daniel gave a sheepish look.<br>"Of course sir, no trouble. Got it. I'll be on my best behavior sir" Tsuna continued to smile with closed eyes trying to hide the fact that she knew she wouldn't stay out of trouble for long considering the group of people she befriended. She could hear Hiro and Allen trying to suppress laughter and she heard Daniel scoff from slightly behind her. She promptly delivered and elbow to his stomach when Shadis wasn't looking.  
>"Oof" Daniel sputtered while doubling over to hold his stomach. Tsuna turned and gave him an Unohana₁ smile. He looked back at her with a glare promising revenge.<br>"Hmm, I find that hard to believe coming from the likes of you." Shadis grumbled. Tsuna and her friends managed to be the only people capable of giving him a headache.  
>"No sir, I mean it, no trouble. Best behavior. I got it." Tsuna felt stricken that nobody believed she could behave but internally agreed with them.<br>"Alright, I have other business to attend to, I'll leave things here to you, Captain Levi." Shadis looked at a short man with black hair and a cold expression. They nodded at each other in affirmation then Sergeant Shadis took his leave. Tsuna noted the other Survey corps members around this Captain Levi guy. There were nine others, three girls and six boys, plus the captain. The captain started talking to the other Survey corps members. Tsuna stared at them for a few more seconds looking over all the people and trying to read each of them. Tsuna was knocked out of her daze at the feeling of her legs being kicked out from under her.  
>"Gah" she squeaked as she felt her ass hit the ground. She turned and glared at Daniel who was sniggering. She retaliated by a quick fist to his nose. Daniel made a noise of pain then glared back at Tsuna with a now bleeding nose. The two's attack on each other was halted when they were called upon by the short captain.<br>"Oi, you two." Tsuna directed her glare towards the captain.  
>"Hurry up and finish that so you can join everybody else." He ordered.<br>"Sure thing _boss_" Tsuna taunted, she couldn't help herself, she loved to challenge authority when she was upset. She knew it wasn't smart but the way the short guy acted really got her all worked up on top of her being pissed off at Hiro and Allen for trying to put the blame all on her.  
>"Tsuna!" Daniel chided quietly from next to her, warning her to stop before she got in more trouble.<br>"Excuse me?" Levi turned towards her and gave her a glare.  
>"Tch. Nothin." She glared back. She didn't want to risk getting her friend in more trouble since they were obviously coconspirators, so she headed Daniel's warning. Levi turned back towards the other Survey Corps members, completely ignoring Tsuna, much to Daniel's relief. Tsuna redirected her attention to picking up the dismantled table surfboard and stowing the pieces away for later. After her and Daniel returned they found all the Survey Corps members gathered in the mess hall. They headed towards a table to sit at, they opted out of joining Hiro and Allen choosing to instead ignore them completely.<br>After that, Levi went over some stuff about how Survey Corps members will stay there and try to integrate with them, but for the trainees to remember that they are their superiors and blah blah as Tsuna tuned him out. After a few minutes of talking to the 105th and then to the S.C members, he left. Tsuna took this opportunity to find certain traitors and righteously punish their transgression with a few flying fists to their faces and kicks to their groins.  
>"What the hell Tsuna?!" Hiro groaned out from his position on the floor. Hiro was kneeling with his hands between his legs in pain while Allen settled for fetal position on the floor.<br>"Exactly what I was gonna say! What's the big idea trying to rat me out to save yourselves?" They looked sheepishly and painfully away from her.  
>"Ah- well… I guess you're right. Sorry Tsu" Hiro said obviously feeling slightly guilty.<br>"Me too" Allen replied the best he could, obviously not taking the assault on his manly hood very well.  
>"Yea yea. Don't let it happen again" Tsuna said smiling at her friend. She's done the same thing before so she wasn't too mad just irritated that they used her trick against her.<br>"Look at you two, getting beat up by a girl!" Said a snarky voice from somewhere behind the trio. Tsuna turned around to find a tall fairly built guy with black hair and dark eyes.  
>"Huh? You want some too?" Tsuna threatened₂<br>"Hah, like I'd waste my time on a small fry like you" The guy laughed mockingly.  
>"Shudup Mason, or I'll kick your ass" Tsuna grinded out between clenched teeth.<br>"Why don't you just try it, _tiny_" Mason sneered. Tsuna got in a fighting stance but Daniel grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder and walked away before she could react.  
>"Cool your jets, haven't you gotten in enough trouble tonight?" he asked still carrying her.<br>"Hmph" she turned her head away from him obviously upset that he interrupted her would be fight. Tsuna decided to just hang there and let herself be carried around without knowing where they were going. The trip ended shortly and they were still inside the mess hall. Maybe I'll take a nap here, she thought to herself. She knew if she did then Daniel would take her to her bunk so she wasn't worried about that. She decided that she would take a nap, until Daniel started talking to the Survey Corps people, then she decided she would eavesdrop.  
>"Hey there cutie" She heard Daniel say. She turned to look the best she could and saw a girl with brown hair and light brown eyes, looking thoroughly confused and flustered.<br>"H-hi" she replied, still taken aback.  
>"I'm Daniel, what's your name?" Daniel asked, obviously flirting with the poor thing.<br>"Sasha…" She said with weariness. Tsuna suppressed a chuckle. Between Daniels way too up front flirting and her 'what the hell is going on' attitude, this was pretty funny.  
>"Leave the poor thing alone" Tsuna said, still holding back her laughter.<br>"But she's cute" Daniel argued, intent on hitting on Sasha.  
>"Well that means she's outta your league buddy" Tsuna laughed at him. Daniel made a noise of feigned hurt, probably accompanied by a similar face Tsuna couldn't see due to the fact that she was still draped over his back.<br>"Oh? Did you want me to drop you on your ass?" Daniel threatened.  
>"Oh? Do you want me to put you on yours too?" Tsuna mock threatened. From what Tsuna could see, most of the other Survey Corps members were talking amongst themselves, a few had been watching Daniel try to put the moves on the Sasha girl. They looked like they had been entertained by Daniel's attempts at seducing Sasha. Daniel completely ignored her statement in favor of redirecting his attention to the girl in front of him. He tried making small talk with her, he was surprisingly successful in his attempts which Tsuna began tuning out in favor of that nap she had wanted to take. After about a minute or two he asked if she was hungry, the girl's eyes lit up at that and she said yea. Daniel asked if she wanted to go eat with him and she instantly agreed with great enthusiasm. Tsuna who was on the verge of sleep, still hanging off of Daniels shoulder, was promptly awoken as she felt herself falling and her ass hitting something. Her eyes bolted open and she looked to see Daniel walking off with that Sasha girl and found that she had been dropped on the table's bench that they were standing by.<br>"Oi! Daniel! What the fuck bro? You're gonna do this to me?" Tsuna half yelled at him irritated that her makeshift bed had walked away. He turned around and offered her a huge grin of satisfaction.  
>"Tch, asshole" Tsuna mumbled "not like you have a chance anyways…" She watched Daniel get the girl some food and sit with her as she ate. Tsuna noted that she ate like she was a starving wild animal. Tsuna also noted that Daniel didn't seem deterred by this at all.<br>"Hey" Tsuna jumped and made a slight 'eek' of surprise at the voice that snapped her out of her day dreaming. She whipped her head to the side to find the source of the voice. She saw a short boy with shaved hair and bright hazel eyes. The guy looked just as surprised as Tsuna, probably due to her reaction.  
>"…hey" Tsuna replied cautiously. The guy smile sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.<br>"Heh, sorry 'bout that" he said, he seemed genuine in his apology and Tsuna decided he was probably on ok guy.  
>"Oh, it's all good. I probably shouldn't space out so much" Tsuna said and laughed. This made the guy relax and smile too.<br>"So, is this a regular thing for him?" the boy said while gesturing towards Daniel who looked to be having a goofy conversation full of grandeur hand movements and intense faces with Sasha. Tsuna noticed that the guy speaking to her seemed almost down put and maybe jealous.  
>"Hmm, jealous are we?" Tsuna said teasingly. The statement got a nice blush out of the boy and a shocked expression.<br>"Huh? Me? No, I was just wondering, that's all!" He said way too quickly for it to be a good cover up.  
>"If you say so… don't worry about it though. He likes to think of himself as a womanizer but he never gets far. The only reason she even seemed interested was for the food I think." Tsuna said with a smile, the guy seemed to seriously consider her words and looked back at the two who were a few tables down from them. He laughed.<br>"Yea, sounds like her." He said while continuing to look at the Sasha girl with a smile. "Oh! I'm Connie by the way." He redirected his attention towards Tsuna and held out his hand.  
>"I'm Tsuna" she smiled and shook his hand. He seems pretty nice she thought to herself. "You guys are from the Survey Corps right?" she asked him.<br>"Yea, I guess we're gonna be staying here for a while. We're supposed to be in disguise and staying low key for a while."  
>"Is it like a secret mission?!" Tsuna had quickly shifted from her position of sitting on her butt to perching on her feet on the bench, now facing Connie with excitement.<br>"Y-yea. Something like that." He replied with surprise and humor in his voice. Tsuna beamed with excitement.  
>"Sugoi!" Tsuna said with awe. "That must mean you guys are like super awesome, right?" Connie chuckled.<br>"Well I wouldn't say 'super awesome' but yea, we're pretty good" He said, a now smug expression donning his face.  
>"How long have you been in the Survey Corps?" Tsuna asked, still relatively excited.<br>"Ah, about half a year or so. Not too long."  
>"Does that mean you guys are from the 104th trainees' squad?" She asked in curiosity.<br>"Yea"  
>"Were you in the top 10?!" she asked, excited again. Connie beamed a smug smile once again.<br>"Yup, I was ranked 8th" He said, obviously proud of himself.  
>"Whoa, you're pretty good then!" Tsuna said in slight admiration.<br>"Ehh, He's ok" A new voice said from behind Tsuna. She turned around to see a guy with short light brown hair and light brown eyes. He had an expression on his face that said he wasn't being serious. Tsuna considered his tone of voice and decided he meant no harm. She thought to herself off handedly that he was a good looking guy.  
>"Oi, Jean, butt out" Connie said back to the 'Jean' guy in slight irritation at the friendly jab.<br>"Who're you?" Tsuna asked, or rather politely demanded. The 'Jean' guy turned his attention to her and Tsuna swore she saw the slightest tint of pink light up his cheeks. She looked intently back at him waiting for an answer.  
>"I, uh, I'm Jean" He slightly stuttered. Tsuna figured the stutter was from her sudden serious seeming demeanor and question. She hadn't tried to come across as serious, she was more curious about who the guy was than anything else.<br>"Oh. Hi Jean, I'm Tsuna." She smiled at him and gave a slight wave with her hand. He definitely blushed this time but Tsuna was oblivious to it.  
>"Hi" He said back.<br>"Hey Jean, go find some other conversation to interrupt" Connie said from behind Tsuna.  
>"Oh, yea that's right! If you said that he's only 'ok' does that mean you were ranked higher than him?" Tsuna asked Jean with excitement and interest. Jean's flustered face suddenly garnered a more haughty and confident expression.<br>"Yup, that's right. I was ranked 6th in our class" He said while pointed his thumb towards himself and smiling smugly. Tsuna's eyes lit up with awe.  
>"Wow, 6th. That's pretty impressive" Tsuna said still in admiration. "You're both pretty talented" she said and looked back at Connie too.<br>"Huh?! Tsuna, I hope you know you'll be in the top 10 too." She heard off to her side. She turned to look and she saw her good friends Amy and William. Amy was a nice girl with shoulder blade length light red-brown hair and hazel eyes. William was a slightly taller than average guy with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a very welcoming, charismatic personality. Amy was the one who had spoken.  
>"Yea Tsuna, I wouldn't be surprised at all if you were in the top 5 at least." William spoke this time.<br>"Ehh?!" Connie made a noise of surprise accompanied by a fitting look. Tsuna looked back at him and gave a sheepish smile.  
>"Well, I don't know about that." Tsuna said back to Amy and William.<br>"Oh stop with the modesty, everyone here knows you're gonna be at least top 10, no doubt." William said teasingly but honestly.  
>"No, I'm seriously not that good you guys. I just act like I am. Besides, it doesn't really matter what you guys think, it's up to Shadis isn't it?" Tsuna said, trying to convince her fellow trainees that they were seriously over estimating her. William ignored her comment and looked at Connie and Jean.<br>"Don't fall for her tricks you two," he joked, "while she seems like a bit of a clumsy airhead, she is very good, she just doesn't act like it unless we're getting graded." He said and Amy agreed enthusiastically.  
>"Oh, buzz off. Go be a busy body couple somewhere else" Tsuna teased them with a smile. Amy blushed and William put his hand around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.<br>"Jealous you don't have someone Tsu?" He teased with a smirk.  
>"Pfft, as if." Amy giggled at her and William smiled triumphantly at his jibe and getting his girlfriend to laugh. They walked off and William offered a wave over his shoulder. Tsuna feigned a grumpy face and crossed her arms.<br>"Anyways, they're total bullshiters. I'm seriously not top 10 material." Tsuna said to Jean and Connie in a slightly dejected voice. Suddenly she jumped up from her perch on the bench and turned to face both boys "If you'd like, you could join me and my friends for some diner" she offered both boys.  
>"Sure" Connie stood up from his place on the bench and he and Tsuna looked at Jean for his answer.<br>"You don't have to, I was just offerin'" Tsuna said to make sure he didn't feel obligated.  
>"Oh, no, its fine. Sure, I'll join you." He said and turned to join them from where he was standing next to the table. Tsuna looked at both guys and noted that they were both taller than her, although Jean was much taller than Connie too. Tsuna then noticed that they were both staring at her.<br>"You're short" Connie said in slight astonishment that he actually had to look down on someone. Tsuna made a noise of hurt and looked at him with a 'really?' look. Jean chuckled from next to Connie.  
>"Actually, she might even be shorter than Historia." Jean said to Connie and they both made looks of contemplation.<br>"Hey, Historia!" Connie had turned around and shouted to one of his fellow Survey Corps members. A small blond haired girl with blue eyes turned to look at them and started walking towards them when Connie waved her over. "We were just talking to Tsuna here and we wanted to see if she might be shorter than you." The girl looked at Tsuna with an almost apologetic look and offered a smile, Tsuna returned it. Jean and Connie had them get back to back so they could compare them  
>"Whoa, now way." Connie said with a look of bewilderment<br>"I can't believe it. You're even shorter than Historia" Jean said with equal shock, he had grabbed the top of Tsuna's head, turned her towards him and bent down slightly, seeming to inspect her.  
>"Yea, and I thought she was short" Connie gestured towards the 'Historia' girl "No offense Historia" she smiled in a way that indicated no offense was taken. Jean nodded in agreement with Connie's initial statement then turned back to Tsuna who he was still holding onto.<br>"Just how tall, or rather how short are you?" Jean asked Tsuna. Tsuna had on a look of embarrassment and the slightest amount of irritation but she'd gone through this too many times to really get upset about it. Tsuna's eyes looked towards the floor at the question as she blushed from the combination of having a guy so close to her face holding her in place by her head and from being the center of attention.  
>"U-um, I'm 140cm (4'7)" Tsuna said bashfully. Connie noticed Tsuna's discomfort and felt somewhat responsible for having started the whole thing about her being short.<br>"Let's go get some food now" Connie offered, trying to make Tsuna less uncomfortable "And thanks for your help, Historia." He said to the girl who nodded with a smile and walked back towards this other girl who was tall and had dark hair and a dark complexion with freckles. They started talking to each other. Tsuna, Connie and Jean headed to get food from the kitchen part of the building. Tsuna saw Hiro and Allen waiting in line for food and they saw her too. They expected to her go up to them and talk to them but she chose to still ignore them as punishment for their earlier betrayal.  
>"Don't you know those two?" Connie said from behind her as they waited in the other of the lines to get food, diner time had just started a little bit ago so most of the people were in line to get food. Tsuna and co.'s table surfboard incident had been a way to pass time as they waited for diner time. Tsuna turned to look at Connie.<br>"Yea, they're _supposed_ to be my friends," Tsuna said loud enough for Hiro and Allen to hear, "but I'm ignoring them for trying to rat me out earlier."  
>"Oh, you mean when you got in trouble for riding on whatever that was earlier" Jean asked with a slight chuckle, Connie snickered too. Tsuna turned red in embarrassment and laughed nervously.<br>"It's a table surfboard. And yea, they acted like they had nothing to do with it when it was their idea in the first place." Tsuna was obviously irritated at her friend's betrayal.  
>"Do you always do stuff like that around here?" Jean asked.<br>"I don't always table surfboard, but I do goof off a lot with my friends, it usually doesn't end up as good as it did tonight. Shadis usually gets us in a lot more trouble but I guess we got lucky, or at least Daniel and I did, those traitors got what they deserved though." Tsuna said. Hiro and Allen had 'discreetly' gotten closer to them.  
>"That's not fair Tsuna, you know you've blamed us for stuff too." Hiro said with a pout. Tsuna turned to face him with a look of extreme irritation.<br>"Yea, and that was like at least a year ago and we decided not to blame each other for things anymore and own up to the things we do, or at least I _thought_ we had."  
>"I know, we said we're sorry. Honestly I was just scared and spoke before I thought about it. I didn't mean to, it was an accident." Hiro said still pouting, he did feel bad about it and he understood where Tsuna came from. Promises were a big thing to her and he knew it. Next to him, Allen looked upset too and he offered Tsuna a hug. Tsuna sighed and rolled her eyes but accepted it none the less.<br>"You guys are lucky I can't stay mad at you long" she said. Allen laughed.  
>"Yea, we know Tsu." He said, letting her go from the hug.<br>"Go back to your line before you lose your place you dorks, I'll save you a spot at the table if we get there first." Tsuna said as she ushered them to go back to their line as people had already joined the line that Jean, Connie and herself were in.  
>After they had gotten their food, Tsuna lead Jean and Connie to a table where Allen, Hiro, Amy, William and a few others were at, there was a spot open next to Hiro and two spots open next to William. Tsuna sat next to William, Connie sat next to Hiro and Jean sat next to Tsuna. Allen was next to Hiro and across from William. He seemed to be in a deep conversation with William and Amy, Tsuna didn't bother to pay attention to what they were talking about though. Jean and she were fairly close together because there wasn't enough room for them to be too spaced out. Tsuna blushed slightly as she felt his leg bump into hers. She looked down at her food, some stew and a small loaf of bread. She pushed the stew forward towards the middle of the table and just took the bread and started nibbling on it. Jean looked down at her in curiosity.<br>"You aren't gonna eat that?" he asked, not expecting to get it but just out of interest.  
>"Oh, uh, no. You can have it if you want." She said rather quietly.<br>"Why aren't you gonna eat it?" He knew that bread alone couldn't possibly keep her full. She went wide eyed and red faced at his question and chose to fill her mouth with bread rather than answer. _She looks embarrassed_ he thought to himself  
>"The stew has some meat in it and Tsuna doesn't like to eat meat" Hiro said from across the table. Jean and Connie both gave her a surprised look.<br>"Huh? Why not?" Connie asked this time. Tsuna's face got even redder and once again she opted for a mouthful of bread. Hiro chuckled.  
>"She feels sad when she eats meat cause she knows it means an animal died." He explained. Connie and Jean looked even more surprised.<br>"What? Is that true Tsuna?" Connie asked. Tsuna barely nodded her head, still very red faced.  
>"Why're you so embarrassed?" Jean teased. He thought that it was a rather endearing thing that she thought like that, although he probably could never be the same way.<br>"I-I'm not" Tsuna said still pretty quietly and still focusing on her bread.  
>"That's not very convincing" said Connie with an expression that said he was entertained by her embarrassment at something that wasn't even a big deal.<br>"She used to get picked on for it, especially when we were younger and I guess it makes her a little self-conscious about it." Hiro clarified for the two males.  
>"H-hey! Don't go telling people that!" Tsuna tried yelling at him for it but it didn't come out nearly as intimidating as she wanted it to. She then settled for lowering her head and refocusing on her bread. Jean reached out and grabbed her head and forced her to look up at him.<br>"That's not really something to be embarrassed about, hell, I could never give up eating meat for a sentiment like that so I think you should be proud of yourself" he said encouragingly to her. Tsuna's blush deepened and all she could do was stare at him in wonder. Nobody had ever said something like that to her except people like her lifelong friends Hiro, Allen and Daniel. "In fact, the only thing that's shameful is not being yourself, so whatever people said to you before is meaningless. Okay?" All Tsuna could do was look at the guy in front of her in awe. It was then that she noticed how handsome he was. She found herself giving a slight nod.  
>"Y-yes" she said breathlessly. He smiled and let go of her head. She remained looking at him for a few more seconds before she lowered her head back to look at her bread. She didn't eat it, she just looked at it thinking. <em>All this time I was so afraid of what people thought of me, of how I'm different from normal people<em>._ Is it really okay to just be myself?_ Tsuna contemplated his words a couple more seconds. She turned back to Jean.  
>"A-ano…" Jean turned to look at her and Tsuna regretted saying something "I- uh, well, um…" she started to blush because she was completely overreacting and she knew it and she knew she seemed laughable and she really needed to just say something instead of looking like a fish out of water. "Um, you can have that if you want…" She said and pointed at the stew she didn't eat. While it wasn't what she was going to say, it was better than nothing. The whole time he had been looking at her with an expression of mild humor. Hiro was looking suspiciously between the two and Connie had started to stuff his face with his own food, looking at the scene slightly interested. Jean chuckled and patted her head.<br>"If you insist" he said while taking the bowl of stew and eating it. He had a look that said he knew that that's not what she wanted to say or ask but Tsuna was glad he hadn't questioned her and that he let it go. She looked up to Hiro worriedly because he wasn't one to let things slip by. He sat there sipping his drink looking at her with devious eyes, then he directed his attention towards Jean.  
>"You're Jean correct?" Hiro received a nod in return, "I'm Hiro, nice to meet you" Hiro said and held out his hand. Jean shook it. "Do you know how long you Survey Corps members will be staying here?" He asked.<br>"We weren't given an exact amount of time but we were told to expect at least a couple weeks."  
>"Oh well in that case if you continue to hang around Tsuna I suppose we'll become good friends." He smiled. To anyone who didn't know Hiro really well, the smile would seem purely kind with no ulterior meaning, but to someone who had been his friend for years like Tsuna, the smile was kind but it also meant that he <em>did <em>have an ulterior motive and that he knew something or had planned something no one else knew about. He turned to Connie "and you're Connie right?"  
>"Yup" Connie said with a smile.<br>"Like I said, I'm Hiro" he returned the smile and exchanged a handshake with the shorter guy. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are the two of you?" Connie who had just taken a bit of his stew hurriedly chewed and swallowed his bite.  
>"I'm 16" Connie said in a way that made it seem like an accomplishment. Hiro nodded his head and then turned towards Jean.<br>"I'm 16 as well" Jean said "how old are you guys?" He looked at Hiro then at Tsuna.  
>"I just so happen to be 16 too." Hiro said in his usual upbeat voice.<br>"I'm 15" Tsuna said still somewhat quiet from her earlier embarrassment. Jean smirked.  
>"So you're the little one in more than one way" he said jokingly and laughed, Connie and Hiro joined him in his laughter as Tsuna once again got red.<br>"I'm not little!" She said in defense. They just laughed harder. She decided she'd had enough of their mockery and that she would go find Daniel. She halfway stood and turned to get out from the bench on but her foot got caught and she let out a squeak of surprise and horror as she saw the floor getting closer and closer to her face. She closed her eyes and readied herself for the impact but instead of feeling the hard floor against her face she instead felt an arm around her stomach. She slowly opened her eyes and looked down at the arm, her eyes followed the arm to it's shoulder and then to the head on top of the shoulders and she saw Jeans face. She then realized that her hands had gripped onto the part of his arm that was touching her stomach and that her hands weren't letting go even though she kept telling them to. She just stared at Jean for a couple seconds before he lifted her from her horizontal position to a vertical one. Her hands still didn't let go and she was still just looking at him.  
>"You should be more careful" he said to her, not scolding or meanly but somewhat caring. She nodded and finally her hands let go of his arm. He retracted it from her waist and she turned to sit again.<br>"That was a close one Tsuna, you're lucky he caught you." She heard Allen say from next to Hiro and she heard William snicker.  
>"It's not like she hasn't face planted the ground before" him and Allen both chuckled at that. She tried her best to glare at them but she wasn't taken seriously. She gave up and instead turned to Jean who, along with Hiro and Connie, was watching Allen and William with slight humor.<br>"Th-thank you." Tsuna said to Jean and his eyes immediately redirected their attention to her. He took a few seconds to take in her appearance. She had odd white hair that looked to be fairly long, instead of being a deterrent he thought it was more complementing to her features. She had these big, light crystal blue eyes that had such an innocent look in them. She was pretty light skinned and had a very good complexion for a teenager training to be a soldier. He realized suddenly that she was actually quite beautiful, he thought to himself that she may even be more appealing than Mikasa.  
>"No problem" he said, forcing himself to stop staring at her. He looked towards Hiro and immediately regretted it when he saw an all too sly smile and a very suggestive head nod from his direction to Tsuna's. His face turned slight red and he turned his attention back to what was left of his food.<br>"So, do either of you have girlfriends?" Hiro asked and Jean nearly choked on his food, he looked up incredulously at Hiro and Hiro gave him and even slyer smile in return.  
>"No" Connie said dejectedly from next to Hiro. Tsuna giggled from next to Jean.<br>"He may not have one but he sure does have his eyes on someone" she said with another giggle. Connie's face got red.  
>"N-no" he said with hardly any conviction.<br>"Uh-huh, you like that Sasha girl" she turned her attention to Hiro "you see the one that Dan was trying to hit up?" She received an intense nod in return "Yea, that's the one he likes!" Tsuna pointed to Connie at 'he'.  
>"Ohhh" Hiro said all smooth and sly as he turned to face Connie, "she's a real cutie, but her table habits seemed a bit much for my taste" he teased Connie with a few nudges to his arm and a wag from his eyebrow. Connie just got redder and decided to keep quiet. Tsuna giggled which brought Hiro's attention to Jean.<br>"And what about you, Jean" he said with a very devious look "do you have a special someone in your life?"  
>"Me? Nah, not really." Jean said trying to play it cool but probably failing miserably.<br>"Oh, that's a real shame" Hiro said, obviously not meaning it. _Is this kid really trying to hook me up with Tsuna? She probably has lots of guys interested in her or she's probably interested in one of the guys here, that she actually knows_, Jean thought to himself.  
>"What about you, Hiro?" Jean said with a slightly snarky undertone. "Don't you have a girlfriend or something?" Hiro looked slightly surprised at the question and Tsuna Giggled behind her hand. Next to Hiro, Allen gained a sudden interest in the conversation.<br>"Actually my friend, while I don't have a girlfriend, I do have someone very special to me" Hiro said with a smirk. "I don't particularly find girls attractive in that way, I'm much more into guys" he said as he reached over around Allen's shoulders, tugged him close against his chest and kissed the top of Allen's head. Connie looked shocked and Jean looked slightly shocked as well but he also wore a grin.  
>"What?! You seemed like a total womanizer! Like a chick magnet, y'know?" Connie said still surprised.<br>"Yea, I get that. It's a real shame, I always feel bad when I have to let some nice girl know that I'll never be into her." Hiro said with a grim look but it instantly changed to a pleasant one "but I wouldn't trade this guy for any of them." From under Hiro's arm, Allen blushed slightly while smiling at the sweet words of his boyfriend. Tsuna looked at Connie and Jean worried about their reactions to her friends' homosexual relationship but was relieved when she saw Connie's shocked expression had turned into a smirk and that Jean still wore his grin. Although Jean expression also held something more devious, it didn't seem like he meant any harm to Tsuna's friends so she didn't bother worrying.  
>"I'm gonna go find Daniel, I'll talk to you guys later" Tsuna said while carefully getting up from the table and walking off with a wave.<br>"Okay, see you later" Connie said.  
>"Yea, talk to you later" Jean said a little eagerly. He was slightly disappointed at her departure. It wasn't that he liked her, he did find her attractive but it was more like she was nice and easy to be around and that's why he felt slight disappointment. It was kinda like having a clumsy, female Marco around he thought to himself.<br>"Bye Tsu!" Hiro said, still happily holding Allen.  
>"Bye" Allen said, he had a relatively deep voice compared to his boyfriend.<br>"You know, neither one of you seem like your gay. I don't mean that as an insult, I just totally didn't expect you two to be gay _and_ a couple." Jean said with genuine interest. He received a small chuckle from Hiro.  
>"Actually, I'm the only gay one, Allen here is pansexual" Hiro said as he looked down to Allen with a loving look.<br>"What's pansexual?" Connie asked looking really confused.  
>"Pansexual means that gender is pretty irrelevant to him, someone who is pansexual doesn't discriminate between genders and instead looks for love with a person instead of love with a 'boy' or love with a 'girl'" Hiro explained. Connie still looked pretty confused and Hiro decided he'd try and make things a little simpler. Jean found Connie's lack of knowledge pretty humorous. So their conversation continued on and eventually turned to random small talk.<p>

Tsuna found herself searching for Daniel, he wasn't with the Sasha girl anymore and he didn't seem to be in the mess hall. She double checked around the hall and decided to go look outside. She headed towards the door, receiving a couple greetings from some of her friends along the way. A lot of the people in the 105th trainees' squad liked Tsuna because she was nice, funny, caring and had a good moral. There were a few people, like Mason, who didn't necessarily hate her but they definitely didn't get along with her. Tsuna neared the door and as she stepped out she tripped over a warped board. She found herself for a second time that day falling face first towards the ground, only this time there wasn't someone next to her to catch her. She braced for impact, somehow unable to bring her hands to her face. Next thing she knew she was being grabbed around the waist from behind. She ended up being suspended in midair by the hold on her waist.  
>"Whoa there" she heard from right behind her. She didn't recognize the voice at all. She grabbed the arm that was around her waist in a vice like grip and turned her head towards whoever just saved her. She saw a tall, built guy with short blond hair. She followed the arm from his shoulder just to make sure that he was indeed the guy who rescued her. She blushed when she saw that he was in fact the guy who had her suspended in midair with one arm. She blushed more when she noticed that he was very ruggedly handsome. She moved her mouth to say 'thank you' but nothing came out and she ended up looking like a fish. He laughed and lowered her to her feet. It took Tsuna a second to let go of his arm and when she did she looked back up to his face to notice that he was a lot taller than her.<br>"Um, thank you" She said quietly. She was still blushing, out of embarrassment and the fact that the guy was really good looking. From off to her side she heard a familiar boisterous laugh. She turned to see Daniel a couple feet away bent over holding his stomach laughing. She glared at him and he just laughed harder. She just sighed in return. She noticed that he was standing next to a very tall guy, who was also pretty good looking. He was at least a foot and a half taller than her with dark hair and green eyes.  
>"Could you turn any redder Tsu?!" Daniel managed between his laughter. Tsuna did in fact get redder at his comment and shyly turned her head towards her feet and grabbed her right arm with her left hand as a nervous habit.<br>"Sh-shuddup Daniel" Tsuna tried to sound intimidating but failed miserably. "Whatever, I'm leaving anyways" she said as she turned around and began to walk away. She was stopped by a hand grabbing her arm. She turned around to see the big blond guy that had saved her was the one who grabbed her.  
>"You're just gonna walk away without telling me your name?" He asked with a smile, almost a smirk but it could pass as a smile. Tsuna blushed bright red once again and stared at him with her mouth slightly open. She realized she was staring and averted her eyes to the ground.<br>"Ts-Tsuna" she managed to get out. She looked back up at him and saw that he had a half smile adorning his face.  
>"Well hey Tsuna, I'm Reiner" he said. She noticed he was still holding her arms and she looked at it and blushed more. He took a half step closer to her and then let go. They were fairly close together now and Tsuna felt very nervous and flushed. Daniel's laughter finally subsided from off to her right.<br>"Whoa there buddy, you're pretty smooth aren't you?" he teased Reiner. Reiner just gave a chuckle in return.  
>"Hm, I guess you could say that" he said while still eying Tsuna who was getting very embarrassed, not only at their words but at the closeness of the handsome guy in front of her.<br>"So where were you headed Tsu?" Daniel asked her with a smile in his voice. She turned her attention towards her friend.  
>"Actually I <em>was<em> looking for you but now I don't know if I want to be around you" she said as she turned her nose at him in a way that showed she was upset. She was also trying to get over the heavy flirting from the guy in front of her.  
>"Ho-ho don't be like that, it's not my fault you got the hot's for him" Daniel laughed out. Tsuna whipped her head towards him and looked at him incredulously and angrily she momentarily debated if she should kick his ass or not. "Okay, okay. I'm only teasing Tsu" he had put his hands up in mock surrender. Tsuna made a 'tch' noise and began to walk away. "No, don't leave Tsuna, I was teasing, I'm sorry" he said as she continued to walk away "really Tsu, I'm sorry. Come back here so I can make it up to you." She stopped and turned towards him.<br>"Oh? And how would you do that?" she asked him with irritation and disbelief in her voice.  
>"I'll let you join us" Tsuna gave him a 'whatever' look and turned to walk again, "wait! <em>And<em> I was going to say that I'll give you a piggy-back ride too, as long as you want until bedtime." She considered this.  
>"And, if you'll let me use you in jousting during training tomorrow." Tsuna bargained. Daniel laughed.<br>"Deal" he said and Tsuna walked back towards him. "You wanna ride on my back or on my shoulders?" He asked her and she considered the question for a few seconds.  
>"Shoulders" She said. He reached towards her and grabbed her under her arms, lifted her up and swung her around behind him and finally up onto his shoulders. There she leaned down and rested on his head. He smiled and gave a small chuckle at her adorableness. Reiner and the super tall guy watched the scene play out in amusement. Tsuna realized that there were still other people around and she tensed up, also realizing just how stupid she must have looked. She then remembered what Jean had said about being herself and relaxed a little.<br>"Oh, and by the way, this is Bertolt" Daniel said and gestured to the tall guy next to them that was nearly as tall as Tsuna was on top of Daniel's shoulders. Of course Tsuna's short body hunched over like it was didn't add hardly anything to Daniel's height, she was still amazed at the Bertolt guy's height. She noticed he was looking at her with a small smile so she smiled back at him.  
>"Hello, I'm Tsuna" she said happily. He mumbled a 'hey' in return.<br>"He's a little shy" Daniel said from bellow her.  
>"Hey Daniel!" William had walked out of the mess hall and called Daniel "Come with me to the bunks, I have something to show you." William said to Daniel.<br>"What is it?" Daniel asked out of both curiosity and laziness, if he could do whatever needed to be done without going somewhere he'd be much happier.  
>"Just come see, but Tsu can't come" William said as he turned to Tsuna "Sorry" he gave her an apologetic look.<br>"One sec" Daniel said and William nodded and headed towards the 105th sleeping quarters. Daniel looked up towards Tsuna the best he could and Tsuna bent over his head to look at him, albeit upside down. "Sorry Tsuna, looks like I'm gonna have ta put you-…" He stopped as he looked forward and deviously grinned "Hey Reiner" Daniel said and Reiner looked at him. "You mind doing me a favor?" Daniel's grin turned sly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Walks in the Dark**

"What favor?" Reiner asked. He wasn't just going to blindly agree to something that a grinning idiot was asking him for.

"I need you to hold something for me while I go check out what William needs." Daniel said with a 'if you know what I mean' kinda face. Reiner looked confused for a second but then his eyes widened slightly in understanding and then he grinned too.

"Sure, I don't mind." He said. Tsuna thought the two of them were being weird and therefore she looked at them like they were a couple of nut jobs. She hadn't caught on to the hidden meaning behind Daniel's words so she was surprised when Daniel stepped closer to Reiner and lifted her from off of his shoulders and instead of setting her down, he handed her to Reiner and then gave a little chuckle and thanks as he walked off. Tsuna was staring wide eyed at Reiner and started to blush. She heard a soft chuckle from off to her side and turned to look at Bertolt who looked like he found the scene humorous. Tsuna looked back at Reiner not knowing what he was doing just holding her there.

"You're really light" Reiner said more to himself than anything. Tsuna blushed more. Reiner easily lifted Tsuna up and around him to his shoulders. Tsuna let out a small noise of surprise and wrapped her legs around his chest and reached down to lightly hold onto him by the neck. This made herself halfway wrap around his head, she had a slight look a fear on her face.

"Wh-what're you doing?" Tsuna asked in a shaky voice. She heard and felt Reiner chuckle from under her.

"'M holding you" he said matter-of-factly, like it was no big deal. To Tsuna it _was_ a big deal. She hardly knew the guy, he was a few inches taller than Daniel, and she was afraid he'd drop her, on top of that she had just been thinking of how attractive he was and _now_ she was on his shoulders, the thought made her face get really warm and she knew she was bright red.

"Y-you don't have to" she said hoping he'd agree and put her down.

"I know," he agreed, "but that doesn't mean I can't" but he didn't put her down, instead he reached up and held onto her legs that were still wrapped around his large chest the best they could.

"Want to go on a walk?" Bertolt said from next to them. Reiner turned towards him and thought about the question for a couple seconds.

"Sure, why not." He said and they started walking. Tsuna squeezed him harder with her legs and slightly harder with her arms. She ducked her face against the top of his head. She heard him chuckle again. "You okay up there?" he asked with a smile in his voice. Tsuna didn't answer and instead gripped him tighter and tried to hide her face more. Both Reiner and Bertolt laughed, it didn't feel like they were laughing _at_ her or making fun of her, it felt different, friendlier rather than harsh. With her face buried against Reiner's head she could smell what he smelt like and she blushed when instead of smelling like some stinky boy, he actually smelled pleasant and almost comforting. She blushed when she realized what she had been thinking.

"I'll go grab a lantern" Bertolt said and fast walked off to do as he said he would. Tsuna's hold on Reiner didn't let up, she wondered briefly if she might've been choking or hurting him but she figured by the way he was leisurely walking and still holding onto her legs. She heard walking approaching them and saw Bertolt had come back with a lantern as he said he would. She thought to herself that Bertolt was very handsome as she watched him walk up next to Reiner and herself. He looked at her and smiled, she blushed and returned her face to Reiner's hair. They started walking off towards a forest area.

"So Tsuna, how do you like training to be a soldier?" Reiner asked from bellow Tsuna, she lifted her head up and contemplated the question.

"It's nice, to me. I like it." She said quietly but both boys heard her.

"You like it?" Reiner asked kinda incredulously but also curiously. Bertolt had turned to look at her, his face was unreadable.

"Y-yea, I do" she began and figured he was asking for an explanation "I feel like becoming a soldier is giving me purpose. I like that I'm becoming someone useful and that I can be here with my friends and watch them become strong too." She said with a slight smile. Bertolt looked at her again, well he had been looking at her off and on but he looked intently at her this time.

"Why did you want to become a soldier?" Bertolt asked her. She turned to look at him.

"Well, I guess I had a few reasons. I wanted to be able to protect the people I cared about and I wanted to come here because that's what Hiro, Daniel and Allen were going to do. We've been together since we were kids so I figured we should stick together. And…" Tsuna paused and her expression got somewhat gloomy and dark. "I wanted revenge against them, against the titans for taking from us, for taking from me and the people I care for. I want to kill all of them, or die trying." Tsuna said with a serious look in her eyes. Bertolt looked away and towards the ground, Tsuna didn't notice but he had a pained expression on his face. Bellow her Reiner had a similar reaction. "Does it make me a fool for thinking like that?" Tsuna asked quietly. Bertolt's eyes snapped to her face and Reiner tensed slightly below her.

"No, I'd say it makes you a lot braver than most people" Reiner said from under her.

"If you don't mind me asking, you had said you wanted revenge on the titans for taking from you, what exactly did they take from you?" Bertolt asked and Tsuna looked towards him. Their eyes locked and Tsuna's insides fluttered momentarily. Her expression turned sad and she looked away.

"They took… everything from me, everything I had loved. The only thing I have left from my childhood is Hiro, Allen and Daniel. Everything else the titans stole from me." Tsuna had tears in her eyes but she blinked them away before they could fall. "My parents were killed by titans when I was really little, my dad had been in the Survey Corps and my mom often went with him. I was left alone with my little sister and Daniel, who had been living with us because his parents were killed too. We lived pretty close to Shiganshina district so when the wall was broke six years ago the titans made it to our village before everyone could evacuate. Me, Daniel and my little sister were running, trying to evacuate, when a titan we hadn't seen came at us from behind. Before I even had time to react it had grabbed h-her" Tsuna was quietly crying by this point and Reiner had gone extremely tense beneath her, tightening his hold on her legs but not quite enough to hurt her. Bertolt looked stricken and pained, he kept his eyes on the ground. Tsuna hardly noticed either of them, she was too busy thinking about what had happened. "The titan had grabbed my sister before I could do anything. I tried to hold onto her but as the titan picked her up my hold on her slipped. All I could do was watch in horror as the titan brought my sister to its mouth. She had cried out to me, but I couldn't do anything besides watch as it devoured her, I was powerless… if it hadn't been for Daniel the titan would have gotten me too, but he had grabbed me and started running again. We didn't encounter anymore titans after that, we got on one of the boats and made it to Trost district where we met up with Hiro and Allen." Tsuna wiped her tears away, she was suddenly thankful that Reiner was carrying her because she didn't think she would have been able to walk on her own. She felt a sense of security from being with the two guys.

"Sorry…" she turned towards Bertolt and looked at him curiously.

"It's not your fault, it's not like you could have stopped it from happening" She said with a warm smile, despite her tears. Bertolt's eyes got wide at her words and he suddenly looked like he was in distress. Both guys just stopped walking and stood there. She couldn't see Reiner but she could feel how tense he was, he had been tense the last few minutes she thought. Bertolt raised his hand to his face and just stared at the ground from between his fingers. Reiner shifted and grabbed her and lowered her down to the ground. Tsuna looked between the two and saw that Reiner also had a shocked distressed look to him. Tsuna wasn't sure why they were acting so strangely so she was worried. "Are you okay?" She reached out and lightly touched Bertolt's forearm. His eyes got really wide again and he looked down at her. His eyes got watery and tears began to fall down his cheeks. Tsuna didn't know why they were upset so she did the only thing she could think of and hugged Bertolt in a comforting manner. It was kinda awkward for her because the height difference, her head rested against his stomach. He tensed up and held his breath for a few seconds before letting it out in a sob, a few more followed and he wrapped his arms around Tsuna.

"I'm so sorry." He said, gripping her tighter. She didn't know why he kept apologizing so she didn't say anything, she just held him for a few more seconds before gently untangling herself from his arms and looking over towards Reiner. He was just staring at her with a wide-eyed, shocked, grievous expression. Bertolt slowly regained most of his composure and Reiner's face became unreadable. He looked away from her and started walking forward again. She went to follow him but was instead picked up by Bertolt. He didn't put her on his back or shoulders, he just carried her bridal style. She hooked her arms up around his neck and he held her closely. Somehow, she felt completely safe and at ease in his arms. She looked up towards his face and looked at him as he faced forward and continued walking. He looked down at her after a few moments and their eyes locked. Tsuna saw an emotion in them that she couldn't quite place, along with sadness. Bertolt studied Tsuna's face, he saw an endearing innocence and kindness in her eyes, it made him feel even worse. He forced himself to look away. They were nearing a barbed wire fence. Reiner had crawled in between two of the wires and was waiting there for them. Bertolt pulled Tsuna away from him, breaking her hold on his neck, she was now extended in midair bridal style. She clutched onto his arms and looked at him worriedly. He lifted her over the fence and suddenly she found another pair of arms were grabbing her. It was Reiner and he was holding her under her arms. Bertolt had let go and crawled through the fence himself. She hung there in Reiner's arms and she stared at Reiner.

"You guys don't have to carry me" she said with a blush, it was kinda embarrassing having a couple of guys she hardly knew carry her around everywhere, even more so when they were both pretty attractive.

"We know" Reiner said matter-of-factly and he gave her a warm smile. She blushed and averted her eyes from his own. He held her a few inches away from his body, she noticed the closeness and blushed. Bertolt had stepped up close behind her, she could faintly feel his body heat radiate through the short distance between them. She felt Bertolt's hands grip her waist-hip area. Suddenly, she was very aware of the fact that the two of them could easily hurt her, they could easily do anything they wanted to her. They were far stronger than her and while Tsuna was a very fast runner, she doubted that she could get away from them in a forest that she didn't know while they apparently knew it quite well. She suddenly felt slightly afraid, she hardly knew anything about them except that they were from the Survey Corps and they _seemed_ friendly. Her body broke out in a slight nervous sweat. And her now wide eyes shot back to Reiner's face looking for even the slightest hint of malice. She found nothing besides a soft smile and understanding, kind eyes. "We aren't going to hurt you… but if you truly feel unsafe, we'll gladly turn back." Reiner said not looking at her but instead favoring the ground. He looked like he was expecting her to hate him, to yell horrible things at him. Tsuna didn't like that look. Yes, she was scared, but she didn't hate him, she didn't look at him like some monster. He looked at her. "You look scared shitless" he said with a scoff that was undoubtedly directed towards himself.

"I… I am scared" Tsuna said and he looked away from her with and 'I knew it face'. "I am scared, but I… I'm gonna trust you" Tsuna said with a determined look in her eyes. She wasn't sure if trusting them was the right choice, she may even die because if she chooses to trust them, but she was determined to make that look go away. That look of self-hate and disgust, the look of guilt and sadness that both boys wore. At her words she felt Bertolt's grip on her hips tighten and Reiner's eyes shot back to her face with a shocked expression.

"Are you sure that that's the right choice?" Reiner said with a look in his eyes that Tsuna couldn't read, it had her scared again but she was determined to stick with her choice. He noticed her fearful determination and smiled to himself. "Well, if you're sure, then let's get going" He said and dropped his hands from her arms and turned to keep walking. She was left in Bertolt's hold from her hips. She reached down and grabbed his forearms, slightly afraid that he'd drop her but when she turned to look at his face the best she could she didn't see any strain in it. She blushed as he pulled her flush against his body.

"If you want to walk, or if you want to return, say so and I'll put you down or take you back." He said. She felt his chest against her back and she blushed at the feeling of his muscles through his shirt. When she nodded he rotated her in his arms so that he could carry her bridal style again. She returned her arms to around his neck, he held her tight and close this time, in an almost protective manner. She once again felt secure and safe. His earlier intimidation still lingering but drowned out with a sense of security. She stared up at him for a few seconds and he gave her a warm smile. She blushed and hid her face against his body. She couldn't believe she had let a couple of strangers walk off into a forest with her just because Daniel had trusted them to hold her. She felt extremely stupid. But she thought to herself that they didn't seem bad, they hadn't hurt her and just moments ago they had had an opportunity to do whatever they pleased to her. She was sure they knew they were stronger than her, that they could easily overwhelm her like this. While Tsuna was a very good fighter during training exercises, she wasn't physically strong and since they had always kept a hold on her, they could easily restrain her and then no matter how skilled she was, it meant _nothing_ if she couldn't move or use her arms. Due to her small size, Tsuna used advanced martial arts to put a stronger opponent's strength and momentum against them when she couldn't overwhelm them. In a situation where she couldn't even move, there was no way that she could overwhelm either of these two due to their sheer size and physical strength. After she was finished analyzing the situation she decided that worrying about it wouldn't help anything and she should just enjoy the quiet of the forest and the luxury of not having to walk. In front of them, she could see the trees thinning and it looked like they opened into a clearing. Tsuna wondered if that was where they were headed. Bertolt was looking ahead towards the clearing, a solemn look plastered on his face. Reiner walked a few steps ahead of them. Tsuna couldn't see his face, but she swore that his shoulders looked slouched, but she figured that maybe it was just the angle she was looking from or something. They reached the edge of the forest and Bertolt put her down, she walked forward till she was a couple steps in front of Reiner and then stopped. She made a small gasping sound as she took in the sight in front of her. There was a lake, shimmering blue with the moons reflection, mountains scattered around the area draped in low floating clouds and beautiful blue tinted green trees. They were standing on a ridge overlooking the sight.

"It's beautiful" she said, amazed. Bertolt walked up to her left and Reiner was still a step behind her on her right. She looked up towards Bertolt and he looked down at her, a soft warm smile gracing his features. The once handsome guy looked almost God-like to Tsuna now, she couldn't do anything but stare up into his now almost glowing green eyes, her mouth slightly agape and a tinge of red spread out on her cheeks. His smile grew more endearing. Reiner reached out and ruffled her hair, startling her out of her trance. Her head whipped towards Reiner, a startled expression plastered on her face, he let out a soft chuckle. She noticed that he looked very dashing too, she blushed when she realized she was looking at an amazing scene, alone, with two equally amazing looking guys. She thought to herself momentarily how strange her newfound attraction to not only Reiner and Bertolt, but Jean as well, was. Before today, she never really looked at guys, or anyone, that way. In fact, Hiro and she had come to the conclusion that she was asexual, and now all of a sudden she was finding herself gawking at boys left and right. No guy had ever made her blush out of attraction or anything except maybe her friends out of embarrassment. She had never marveled at muscles on a guy like she had at Reiner's arms or the feel of Bertolt's chest against her back earlier. She had never been made breathless by a guy like she had been earlier with Jean. She returned her focus to the moment, deciding that she could think of that stuff later when Hiro gossiped with her or when Daniel teased her.

"Yea, it is" Reiner said looking not at the picturesque scene but instead towards Tsuna. Tsuna blushed at the obviousness of the meaning behind his words and how they were slightly cheesy. She found herself caught by his gaze. Her heartbeat sped up in her chest. _Why am I feeling this way?_ She thought to herself, _it was like this earlier around Jean too_. Reiner reached up to her face and grabbed a small section of her hair that had fallen from its spot behind her ear. Instead of tucking it back behind her ear, he ran his light hold down it till he had almost reached the end. He just held it there like he held her gaze. She felt body heat behind her and noted that Bertolt must be fairly close to her. Once again she felt slightly intimidated. For a fraction of a second she let worry seep into her thoughts and briefly contemplated running back to the barracks. The thought went basically unheard, as Tsuna was too enraptured by the boy in front of her to notice the thought. She felt a chunk of her hair being tugged from behind her and felt one of Bertolt's hands rest on her upper left arm. Her face got hot and her heartbeat raced in her chest. She thought to herself how she shouldn't let two guys make her feel this way, that she should be in control of herself and that she should be as unaffected as always by contact from males. Reiner's eyes traveled from her eyes to the section of her hair he held, they followed it like his eyes did previously.

"Your hair is pretty, Tsuna" Reiner said as he looked back to her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but quickly forgot as she once again found herself captivated by his eyes. Those amber eyes that shouldn't be as breathtaking as they were turning out to be.

"You're very beautiful" Bertolt said. Tsuna stiffened and her eyes widened. She turned to look up at him and realized he _was_ indeed very close to her. She looked up at his green eyes, the ones that looked too good in the moonlight, and instead of seeing deception, she saw gentle sincerity. It frazzled her brain. She realized suddenly things shouldn't be like this. You don't hear that from a guy you just met. Guys you just met don't take you off to an isolated location and get touchy-feely. That's what she thought at least, she was right wasn't she? Or was this a usual thing that she just hadn't experienced. The thought of a story from an unfortunate rape victim she heard once came to mind and she was suddenly scared. Is that what this would end up being? Bertolt noticed the fear in her eyes and leaned down to wrap his arms around her shoulders, resting his next to hers, it looked awfully awkward for someone of his height to embrace someone of her height the way he was. "I'm sorry, don't be afraid. There's no reason to be afraid" he said in a comforting voice. She noticed she was slightly shaking, she was never able to discern if it was from the cold, or from fear.

"What are you afraid of?" Reiner asked from behind her, a worried tone in his voice. He hadn't meant to get so touchy with her, he hadn't even thought about it until Bertolt noticed her fear. He felt bad and hoped she was afraid of something besides them. He didn't know why but he felt protective of her, something about her was different than most people, he was drawn towards her and earlier when she had told them about her sister he felt his heart break a little knowing that she wouldn't have felt that pain if it wasn't for what the two of them did. Tsuna pulled away from Bertolt slightly and just stared at Reiner like he was speaking a different language. She averted her eyes from his with an almost guilty look in them, there was definitely fear on her face too. He gently grabbed her chin and turned it towards him so she couldn't turn away. He gave her an expecting, pointed look. Tsuna tied to turn away but his strong hands kept her in place.

"Tsuna?" Bertolt asked from his place behind her, his voice telling her that he too wanted her to answer. She felt scared and pressured and she briefly wondered if they'd be mad at her for being scared, if they'd hurt her for being scared. She thought back to Bertolt's hug and reassuring words, she had found no malice, do deception in his words, but that could mean that he was just a good liar. Reiner's grip ever so slightly tightening drew her out of her thoughts and back to the waiting eyes and unanswered question. Tsuna squeezed her eyes shut.

"You" she whispered, immediately regretting it. The words had just slipped from her mouth before she could think of a lie, before she could remind herself that they could hurt her. Her eyes were still shut tightly when she felt the grip on her chin slacken then disappear completely. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a shameful, pained expression staining Reiner's handsome features. His eyes were pointed towards the ground, purposely avoiding her own, confused eyes. She turned her head back towards Bertolt and saw that he also looked upset, not at her but at some unknown element. "Why…" they both looked at her somewhat surprised and somewhat anxious "why had you both looked so upset earlier… when I told you about To- about my sister?" She asked and looked at each of them with confusion and fear and determination. "It wasn't like you were just sympathizing and felt sorry… it was different. And you" she turned towards Bertolt "kept apologizing." They both looked at her shocked. For a moment Reiner feared she had found them out but then decided against it because she wasn't trying to rip out their throats or anything like that.

"I- well, it's just… um" Bertolt struggled for words "I know how you feel" he quickly covered for himself, it wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the truth "our friend… our close friend got eaten too, so we know how you must feel" he finished, looking away from her. Reiner thought to himself that that was quick thinking on Bert's part.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Tsuna said, guilt in her voice for bringing up such memories.

"Don't be" Reiner said. Tsuna's attention was on him and she looked more sad now than anything. He felt his heart break a little more, for going along with the half lie and for helping cause the death of her sister.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" Reiner put his finger to her lips to shush her. She stopped and looked surprised. Her eyes traveled down to look at his finger the best she could.

"Don't be" he said with a little more force behind his words. Tsuna pulled her head back the best she could from his finger.

"But I shouldn't have-" He pushed his finger back against her lips.

"Tsuna" he gave her a pointed look.

"Don't be sorry Tsuna" Bertolt said from behind her "we shouldn't have put you in a position where you'd be afraid or feel threatened" his voice was kind and it made her feel worse for thinking badly of them. She turned to face him and felt even worse when she saw his caring, comforting smile. She was a pretty sensitive person beneath her sometimes rough and most of the times dorky personality and with all the emotions she'd been put through that night she felt even more delicate. Her eyes began to water and soon her cheeks were tear-stained and soft sobs could be heard from the now crying girl. Reiner and Bertolt looked at each other, neither one was used to dealing with a crying girl, especially one that they had made cry in more ways than one. Tsuna had brought her right arm up to cross over her eyes in a futile attempt at hiding her tears that were actually still quite visible.

"Uhh, it's okay. Don't, um, don't cry" Reiner tried to soothe Tsuna as she wept. He looked towards Bertolt again, pleading for help with his eyes. Bertolt looked uneasy and ironically, he looked somewhat scared of the crying girl, or at least the situation that they found themselves in.

"Yea, Tsuna, its okay. We're sorry, it was our fault, don't be sad." He said slightly rushed like he wasn't sure he was doing it right. He looked around like he had lost something and his eyes lit up the tiniest amount when they landed on her hand. He reached out and took her hand in his, the size difference was laughable. Bertolt's hand easily dwarfed Tsuna's. Tsuna felt Bertolt grab her hand. She felt him rubbing circles on the back of her hand in a comforting manner, Tsuna lowered her arm from her face and looked at him. She sniffled her nose and held back sobs. The sight was quite adorable Bertolt thought and he kinda felt guilty for thinking that her sadness was cute. Reiner still stood there unsure of what to do, obviously Bertolt was better in this situation than he let on because his quiet words of reassurance and simple hand holding seemed to be working. Reiner _wanted_ to give her a hug but he was hesitant because Bertolt hugging her had been what had set her off, or at least that's what it seemed like. He settled with just putting a hand on her shoulder. Tsuna turned towards Reiner when she felt his hand rest on her shoulder, he looked strained but behind that there was worry and she realized he was trying to make her feel better.

"Thank you" she said to both of them. They each smiled in relief and Reiner let out a relieved breath he didn't realize he was holding. Tsuna yawned and Reiner thought to himself that it was one of the cutest things he's seen. Everything about the girl in front of him was cute, she looked innocent and vulnerable and he felt drawn to her. He had this instinctive voice in his conscience telling him to protect her, to make her happy. It was weird for him. The only other person he had feelings like that for was Bertolt. Yes, he and Bertolt were secretly an 'item', both of them were also secretly bisexual _and _both of them just so happened to feel rather attracted to the cutie right in front of him. Of course, they had only just talked to her a little bit ago, but for some reason it felt like, Reiner at least, had known her for years. She was different from normal girls, she was energetic and clumsy and adorable and Reiner realized he might have a bit of a crush on her. Judging by the way Bertolt was acting he was in a similar position. He looked at his secret boyfriend as he was looking at Tsuna and saw the way he looked at her. In a normal situation he would have been jealous, but here, in this situation, he could only empathize. Bertolt was looking at Tsuna with an almost loving look, his eyes held emotions of caring and his actions showed kindness. Normally Bertolt would have been his usual sweating, nervous and anxious self but here with Tsuna and Reiner, he felt at ease.

"Let's go back" Bertolt half said half asked he looked at Reiner to make sure that it was okay and he received a nod of confirmation in return. Bertolt returned his attention to Tsuna. She was looking at him with puffy reddish eyes, she waited a few seconds seeming to contemplate the question.

"Okay" she said with a nod. She was partially disappointed because the place was very beautiful, but she also wanted the comfort of her friends back. The two guys with her weren't bad, and they were definitely easy on the eyes, but they were Hiro or Daniel or Allen. Reiner grabbed her by her arm and pulled her closer to him before picking her up and fixing her so that she was on his back. She blushed and briefly tensed up before relaxing and resting her head on his shoulder. They set off on their way back to the 105th trainees' training grounds. The walk back was mostly uneventful and after a few minutes Tsuna had all but fallen asleep in Reiner's hold. She felt warm and safe, despite her earlier fear she found that both Reiner and Bertolt had managed to make her feel safe and secure. Reiner could see the lights of the training grounds.

"Tsuna" he said softly to get her attention before she fell fully into sleep. Tsuna lifted her head in an attempt to shake off her sleep but without her permission her head slowly fell back to its pillow, or Reiner's shoulder. Bertolt let out a soft laugh from beside the two. He put his hand on Tsuna's shoulder and delicately shook her. She lifted her head again and this time Reiner set her on her feet before she could fall asleep. Tsuna wobbled slightly due to her groggy state before getting her bearings. They continued walking in a comfortable silence until the got to the middle of the main training area.

"TSUNA!" They heard from off to their right. They all turned to look and Tsuna recognized Hiro running up to her before he picked her up in a literal breathtaking hug. He set her down before she could complain and bent down to examine her face. He gasped "Tsuna, were you crying? What happened? Did they hurt you? Are you okay?" He bombarded her with questions, worry written all over his face. Tsuna saw out of the corner of her eye that Connie, Jean and Sasha had followed him. Her heartbeat quickened ever so slightly at the sight of Jean and she felt her face turn red.

"I'm fine Hiro, they didn't do anything bad. Everything's ok" she said and he let out a huge breath of relief. He let go of her shoulders and took a step back.

"That's a relief" he smiled at her. "We were worried about you, after you left we talked for a little bit and tried to find you but you weren't anywhere to be found and then I talked to Daniel because you said you were going to go talk to him and he said he left you with some of the Survey Corps members and he didn't know where you were and he was such an uncaring ass and oh, I'm so glad you're okay Tsu" Hiro had managed to say that all in one breath Tsuna noticed and she gave him a sheepish look for not having told someone where she was going. Then Tsuna realized that he had said '_we_ were worried' and her face blushed at the thought of her new friends, which included Jean, being worried about her. She looked over at said charming guy and saw him glaring at Reiner and Bertolt, she looked towards Reiner and saw him glaring back. She figured they just didn't like each other or something. Hiro had wrapped his arm around her shoulder and began to lead her away. She looked back at Bertolt and Reiner and smiled.

"Goodnight, thanks for the rides" she said enthusiastically as Hiro continued to pull her towards the barracks, before she turned away she saw them smile back at her and they said their own goodnights. As she was pulled out of earshot, she saw that Jean and Connie had started talking to Bertolt and Reiner, but she noted that it didn't look too friendly. She thought to herself that there was definitely something different about Reiner and Bertolt, she just couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. As she came back to reality she saw that they had walked into the fairly empty barracks. Hiro walked them over to her bunk and gestured for Tsuna to sit down, Tsuna listened and Hiro sat next to her. He seemed to be thinking so Tsuna stayed quiet and waited for him to talk. Hiro looked at her in a devious way and Tsuna was sure that this conversation would end up being about at least one of the guys she was with.

"So Tsu, what didja think about that Jean guy? He seemed pretty nice right?" Tsuna knew he'd say something about a guy but she wasn't expecting it to _not_ be a lecture about going off in the woods on your own with two guys.

"Yea, he was nice. He seems like a good guy." Tsuna said almost skeptically.

"And isn't he a hottie?" Tsuna giggled at the question. "I mean, even you were blushing left and right, huh Tsuna?" This made Tsuna's cheeks brighten a little.

"I-I guess he's alright, I mean I don't really look at guys that-"

"You _didn't_ look at guys like that, before Jean" Hiro corrected. "And if I'm not mistaken you thought those other two, the ones you were walking around with, were good looking too. But let's not worry about that." Hiro said. He had always been observant and it was no surprise he had found Tsuna out.

"Okay, so maybe he's handsome, I don't see why it has to be such a big deal. I hope you know there's a difference between being attracted to somebody and _liking_ them. I don't _like_ the guy or anything, or at least not intimately." Tsuna defended. Hiro smile grew at her words.

"Sweetie, it's a big deal because up until today you haven't even glanced at a guy like that before and now all of a sudden you're making goo-goo eyes at him the whole time we ate together. It was so cute, him trying to catch your eye, him succeeding, you blushing. Typical young love" Hiro gushed with blatant excitement, he was the homosexual hopeless romantic of the group and he was very much enjoying the whole situation. "This could be the early stages of love" He said with a hopeful tone.

"Whoa there. Back up. Hold that thought, forever. _Love_? Hiro, the guy's hot, that doesn't mean I love him. You're taking this out of proportion" Tsuna said almost ready to go find some sane company.

"Listen Tsu, when you find a guy who looks at you like Jean was looking at you that means he's seriously worth considering. I mean did you hear what he said to you? It was so sweet and caring, I _know_ it got your attention." Hiro said and Tsuna thought back to Jean's words about how she should be proud of herself and be true to herself. She gave a slight smile without realizing it, unfortunately Hiro noticed it for her.

"Hah! Look, you're smiling when you think about him!" Hiro said excitedly while pointing towards her now stuttering mouth. "See, there is something special about him." He said happy as could be. "Oh, you two would look so good together, he has that swagger to him and you're all klutzy and shy, it's so complementing!"

"Well, what if I don't like him and I like someone else?" Tsuna said more to be stubborn than to actually ask the question. Hiro looked at her sternly all of a sudden.

"Tsuna, Jean is way better than either of those brutes. I don't want to hear anything about them. Ruggedly handsome aside, they probably aren't even good people." He said indignantly.

"That's not fair" they heard from behind them. They both turned around to see Daniel sprawled out on the bunk next to Tsuna's. "I think that they could be better than that Jean dude. I mean, they were ranked higher than him after graduating." Daniel said matter-of-factly. Hiro stood up and turned to face him.

"What does ranking have to do with being good for Tsuna?" He said defensively.

"They could protect her or something like that" Daniel shrugged, obviously not thinking he needed to justify his reasoning.

"Daniel, you _know_ they're no good for her. Someone like Jean could easily protect her and make her _happy_." He said, his voice was starting to carry a little more than frustration to it.

"I think that they could be good for her." Daniel had sat up by this point, his words also carried a little heat to them. Tsuna sat on her spot on her bed looking between her two arguing friends. "Besides, I think that they care about her."

"They made her cry!" Hiro said in disbelief.

"They didn't mean to, they felt real bad." Daniel said defensively.

"I'm not talking about today." Hiro said with meaning to his words. He gave Daniel a pointed glare and Daniel went to retort but ended up just closing his mouth and looking away from Hiro's glare. Tsuna thought that the two of them were acting really strange. She understood that there was a meaning behind Hiro's words that she didn't know and it made he think that her earlier assumptions were correct about something being weird about Reiner and Bertolt. She didn't know what but she was determined to find out.

"Well, maybe they feel bad about that too" Daniel said more quietly.

"They should! They should feel horrible!" Hiro shot back at him, not relenting his harsh tone. Daniel sighed.

"I still think that they could be good for her." He said before standing and walking off. He pat Tsuna's head as he passed by and offered her a smile, Tsuna noticed that it looked pained. She gave him a caring smile in return and he turned away and walked out of the barracks. Hiro still stood next to her and still looked irate and frustrated. He made a noise of irritation and plopped down next to Tsuna.

"The nerve of him. I swear he's one of the most oblivious, uncaring, most frustrating guys I've ever met. Why am I friends with him?" He ranted more to himself than anything. He threw his hands in the air in defeat. He looked over at Tsuna and gave her a friendly smile. "My point still stands about you and Jean. At least get to know him okay? I seriously think he could make you really happy." Tsuna sighed, more of an act than anything.

"I _guess_ I could at least see where it goes, but I won't promise anything." She said and he let out and excited 'yes' before throwing his arms around her.

"Oh I just know you two will be great together!" He said and Tsuna decided not to mention that he was getting ahead of himself.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day the 105th trainees' squads had martial arts training where they were _supposed_ to practice defending themselves against an opponent with a wooden knife and disarming said opponent. Shadis had been walking around observing but was currently meeting with one of the assistants off to the side of the training area. The Survey corps members were given a choice to participate or to observe from the sidelines, Reiner and Bertolt stood along the fence with a tall freckled girl and they seemed to just be watching. Jean stood with Connie, Sasha and that Historia girl, they looked like they were having an intense conversation with a lot of hand moving and Sasha and Connie getting giddy, and then there was this black haired girl and brown haired boy who were standing around talking to a blond boy who arrived last night after most people had went to bed. They just so happened to be right next to Tsuna and Daniel's group and Hiro and William's group, and not too far away Amy and Allen trained together. Reiner and Bertolt were watching Tsuna and Daniel's group who had yet to start training. Daniel had the wood knife and Tsuna was weaponless but they hadn't moved yet and neither were in a stance suggesting that they would move any time soon. In fact they were sitting down, looking bored and uncaring. Off to the side Shadis was approaching.

"Listen up!" He yelled and all the cadets turned their attention towards him "I've decided that I will grade your martial arts training, so if I were you I wouldn't sit around all day slacking" he gave a suggestive, irritated glance towards Tsuna and Daniel who both looked at him like he had gone insane. "That is all" Shadis said before walking towards the other side of training cadets.

"He did that on purpose didn't he?" Tsuna grumbled out as she stood along with Daniel. They both looked mildly irritated at now actually having to do something.

"I so totally bet he did." Daniel muttered, he and Tsuna stood a few feet apart. "So, wanna be the soldier?" He asked Tsuna.

"Eh, sure" she shrugged. Reiner and Bertolt were still watching Tsuna's group, now out of interest instead of just because Tsuna was in it.

"Don't you think that it's a little unfair that you're paired with someone so much bigger than you?" Reiner asked comically. Tsuna and Daniel turned to look at him. Daniel laughed and Tsuna looked like 'really?' at Reiner.

"Dude, she's short not crippled" he said through his laughter. Tsuna now stood with her hand on her hip looking at Daniel with slight aggravation at being called short.

"Well, size _does_ kinda matter" Bertolt said from next to Reiner who nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't go underestimatin' her if I were you." He said as his laughter finally subsided. He turned back towards Tsuna and got in a ready stance. Tsuna just stood there and looked at him. Without warning he ran at Tsuna with the wood knife in hand. He neared her and swung like he was going to stab her in the gut but before the knife made contact Tsuna grabbed his arm in one hand, his shoulder in the other and rotated her body to the left, redirecting his path towards the ground. Daniel's own inertia worked against him and he flew face first into the ground with an 'oof'. Reiner and Bertolt were now not the only one's watching the pair, Jean's group had begun watching them after they heard Reiner and Bertolt' conversation with Daniel. They all wore expressions of shock and slightly gaped mouths, even Ymir looked slightly impressed. Daniel was grumbling from his position on the ground. He had sat up to now rest on his knees.

"You coulda gone easy on me" he said as he looked over his shoulder to Tsuna.

"Well it's kinda awkward with everyone watching" Tsuna mumbled and offered her hand. Daniel accepted the help and stood up. "Sorry" Tsuna said. Daniel smirked and turned back to Reiner and Bertolt.

"So how about that? You wanna give her a try?" He asked all smug like it was him who just tossed around someone almost twice his weight. Tsuna noted that the way he said that to Reiner could have been taken more than one way but decided he was too dumb to get upset over. "I promise it only hurt a little" he said with a grin plastered on his face.

"No thanks" Reiner said quickly and turned his head away.

"Oh? You scared?" Daniel mocked "it's ok, I understand. It must be hard being scared of a four and a half foot tall girl, bet that really gets your ego doesn't it." Daniel said and turned back towards Tsuna "but like I said, I understand. I'm sure Tsuna does to, even though it may make you look kinda like a wuss." Daniel looked over his shoulder with a huge grin and Reiner turned back towards him and scowled.

"I'm not afraid, I'm just not fond of hurting girls." He said still scowling. He thought to himself if Tsuna's opinion of him _would_ be tarnished if he backed down from a challenge and the thought made him worry ever so slightly. Daniel just shrugged and for some reason that irked Reiner. He sighed, "Fine, I'll try." He walked towards Daniel who had turned back towards him eagerly, offering him the knife without hesitation. Reiner looked at the knife then to Tsuna and asked himself how in the world was he supposed to run at a girl he was sure he liked, and try to jab her with a piece of wood. Then he remembered that she had just threw someone who was just a few inches shorter than him, and just as built, to the ground. He heard Daniel laugh from behind him.

"You sure?" Tsuna asked him, looking like he was crazy "I won't hold back, we're being graded" she said in a warning matter-of-fact tone. He suddenly realized that she was giving him a one-hundred percent, serious warning and briefly wondered if he should be worried but looking at her he could see nothing but fragileness. Her arms were scrawny, through her training attire she looked pretty petite where girls like Mikasa, Ymir and even Historia somewhat, looked relatively sturdy. She was tiny and beautiful and there was _no way_ he could be afraid of her.

"That's fine" Reiner said with confidence now.

"Don't hold back cause she has a pretty face" Daniel said from behind him and before Reiner could argue Tsuna was talking.

"Yea, don't hold back, I don't like that" she said much to his dismay. Even when he was in training himself, he never really went all out. "If you hold back, you're gonna get your ass kicked." She said and he just looked at her regretting his decision to be gulled into this. Never-the-less he got in a halfway ready position and waited a few seconds before charging at Tsuna. She easily dodged his attempt at stabbing her and side stepped only to kick his legs out from under him. He landed face first on the ground.

"Ouch" he grumbled from the ground. He sat back on his butt and held his nose which had taken the blunt of the fall. He heard snickering from behind him and saw that Daniel, Jean and Connie were laughing, and he could only assume it was at him.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?" Tsuna said from next to him, genuinely concerned. He was embarrassed that he had been tossed around by someone so small and _now_ they were asking if he was alright. She kneeled down next to him and took his hand in her own and pulled it from his face. She looked to be checking for damage and had unintentionally gotten quite close to his face. He flushed and pulled back so he could stand.

"No, I'm fine." He said standing up "you're a lot better than you look" he said to Tsuna who was still kneeling on the ground. He offered her a hand and she took it and Reiner pulled her to her feet. She smiled at him.

"Well since we're being graded I had no choice. Normally we just sit around or play-" she paused and her eyes got all wide and she turned towards Daniel with extreme excitement. "Daniel! Jousting! Now!" She said and looked like she was ready to explode with excitement.

"Oh yea, I forgot. You sure? I mean we're getting graded." He said sounding kinda bummed out and Tsuna suddenly looked very dejected.

"Oh… that's right… I guess it'll have to wait till some other time." She said with slouched shoulders.

"What's jousting?" Reiner asked, confused. Tsuna turned to look at him.

"Haven't you heard of jousting before?" she asked, looking at him like he just spoke another language. He thought to himself for a second and then remembered something about horses and long pole things.

"Kinda, don't know _exactly_ what it is but I was pretty sure you need horses." He said realizing that there were no horses around here that could be used to joust with.

"Oh, yea. Well since we obviously don't have horses, we use each other instead" Tsuna said as Reiner gave her a 'what the fuck are you talking about' look. "Like, if me and Daniel were jousting partners I would ride on his shoulders. And if we were against Hiro and William" she gestured towards the group a few feet away practicing "then Hiro would probably ride William's shoulder and then it would be like normal jousting except in order to knock someone down, either one of the people on top of the others can use any part of their body instead of a pole." Tsuna explained looking smug.

"Me and Tsuna are an unbeatable team" Daniel said walking up next to Tsuna and wrapping an arm around her neck like he was going to give her a noogy. She started squirming and trying to get away but he tightened his hold as best he could without choking her. She pushed on his back and arm with her hands trying to pull her head out of his grasp but to no avail. Daniel was still looking at Reiner like nothing was going on and Reiner stared at him incredulously.

"Daniel! Let me go!" Tsuna half said, half growled. She was still pushing and pulling and squirming trying to get out of his hold. "I swear I will kick your ass if you don't let go" her voice was strained. Tsuna jumped up and put her feet on Daniel's back and began pushing with her legs, all it ended up doing was possibly stretching out her neck. She let out an irritated 'ugh' sound and dropped her feet back to the ground. She stopped squirming and started pouting.

"You see, the trick to beating her is restraining her. She has some kickass moves but she's too week to do anything when it comes to brute force. Hell, she probably couldn't even lift 50 pounds of something. It's weird, she can do pushups and pull-ups all day but she can't actually lift hardly anything besides herself." Daniel said while he laughed down at Tsuna who was glaring at him as best she could. Suddenly Tsuna stretched out her left leg as far as it could go and then swiftly brought her knee into Daniel's right leg, directly under his butt. Daniel dropped Tsuna and his leg buckled under him, his hands wrapped themselves around his upper leg and he groaned out a few curse words in pain. Tsuna, who was now free, turned her face away from Daniel with a 'hmph'.

"I am not week" she said defensively. Reiner laughed down at Daniel along with Hiro and William who had stopped their training to enjoy watching Daniel get his ass kicked.

"You should have seen that coming" Hiro said as he shook his head in disappointment.

"Yea, didn't you just say not to underestimate Tsuna a few minutes ago?" William said in between laughs. Hiro looked down at Daniel with a smug look on his face and Tsuna thought to herself that he was enjoying this more than usual because of his and Daniel's argument last night.

"Whatever" Daniel said as he turned his head away, obviously embarrassed. Tsuna walked closer to him and offered her hand with a smile. Daniel took it slightly begrudgingly and returned the smile. Tsuna noticed he had a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks and she chuckled at his embarrassment. "Thanks, Tsu. Although, you wouldn't need to help me up off the ground if you didn't knee me in the first place" Daniel whined.

"I wouldn't have kneed you if you hadn't of grabbed me so it's your own fault" she said slightly annoyed. "It's your turn to be the soldier" Tsuna said towards Daniel and she got a noise of discontentment from him in return and he grumbled something about not wanting to do this anymore. Tsuna walked over and picked up the knife from where Reiner had dropped it during his fall. She looked over to Reiner who was a couple feet away and smiled "no hard feelings right?" Reiner blushed from both the girl in front of him and the memory of being beaten by said girl. He rubbed the back of his neck in a sheepish embarrassed way and grinned.

"Right" he said and received another smile before Tsuna turned her attention back to Daniel. Tsuna got in a ready stance with the wood knife in her right hand. She waited a few moments before launching herself forward and running at Daniel. Tsuna pulled her right hand back like she was going to stab Daniel but as she moved it forward she tossed the knife to her left hand. Daniel's left arm moved forward to grab at Tsuna but Tsuna's now empty right hand clutched it and stopped it from advancing on her form. Her left hand swiftly closed the distance between Daniel's neck and the knife, stopping barely a centimeter from his skin. They stood still for a moment before Tsuna brought the knife away from Daniel's neck. Daniel let out a breath he had subconsciously been holding and let his shoulders relax from where they had tensed up. Tsuna grinned proudly and Daniel let out a week chuckle. The Survey corps member who had been watching were more or less impressed. Reiner had already made his way back to Bertolt and had been watching Tsuna and Daniel with slight shock. To both of them, Tsuna honestly didn't seem like she'd be even half as good as she turned out to be, especially since she had been scared of them on their walk the night before.

"She's like a smaller, cuter version of Annie, isn't she?" Reiner said turning to Bertolt who looked back at Reiner.

"She may actually be better than her." Bertolt said as he turned back to look at Tsuna. He thought to himself that someone who looked so sweet and delicate shouldn't be able to fight like that. Reiner was basically full grown and he definitely wasn't small but Tsuna tossed him down like it was nothing, Bertolt was glad that she hadn't decided to lash out at them last night when she had gotten scared.

"I see you didn't argue the cuter part" Reiner said in a suggestive tone as he nudged Bertolt with his elbow. Bertolt got slightly flustered and pink cheeked.

"You already knew that I thought she was pretty" Bertolt said bashfully, avoiding his boyfriend's teasing eyes.

"Yea, but I was sure you had a thing for Annie" Reiner said, Bertolt turned to look at him and saw that his expression had gotten more serious.

"Well, kinda but I saw her more as a friend and comrade than anything else" Bertolt said with a smile and Reiner smiled back.

"Attention!" They all heard Shadis yell from the center area of the training cadets "that's enough martial arts training for today. Go get lunch and await further orders!" Shadis ordered and sighs of relief could be heard sporadically throughout the 105th trainees.

"Man, I can't believe we didn't get to joust today" Tsuna said dejectedly as she walked in between Hiro and Daniel. Allen walked up next to Hiro and grabbed his hand 'discreetly', no one ever really said anything about the gay couple. The one person who had ever said anything ended up with a broken nose and bruised up body. Nobody had to ask to know that it had been Daniel and Tsuna who beat the guy up. Since then there's been a silent threat that any badmouthing would get severely punished so nobody ever dared to say anything to the couple. Not that people really minded anyways, both of them were quite liked by their peers for their friendliness and welcoming personalities.

"How about we see if there's time after lunch and try to joust then" Daniel proposed. Tsuna's eyes lit up and she got all energetic.

"That's a great idea! Let's do it. We'll eat real fast so we for sure have some time." Tsuna said and looked up at her friends for confirmation. Hiro smiled at her eagerness and Daniel and Allen chuckled.

"I don't mind" Allen said from next to his boyfriend.

"Yea, me either, as long as Allen and I are a team" Hiro said as he forsook holding Allen's hand to wrap it around his shoulders. They looked at each other and gave each other loving smiles, Allen's being more shy than Hiro's. Tsuna looked to Daniel expectantly.

"Of course! Didn't I promise you I would last night?" Daniel said and a huge smile plastered itself on Tsuna's face. Daniel grinned at her enthusiasm and happiness. He loved it when she was happy, she had been his friend longer than anyone else and they knew each better than anyone else knew each of them. Tsuna was the only one who truly understood Daniel and Daniel was the only one who fully understood Tsuna. To Daniel, Tsuna was the most important person in the world. At one point during their years together, Daniel had fallen in love with Tsuna but Tsuna was oblivious and never noticed his feelings. After several failed attempts of trying to get her to at least realize his feelings Daniel had decided that he would do the only thing he could do and be the very best friend possible and be there whenever she needed him. After a while he had gotten somewhat used to the unrequited feelings and hid his remaining sorrow behind a flirtatious attitude, always flirting with as many girls as possible even though none of it felt the way he wanted it to. None of those girls were Tsuna, none of them had her luscious white hair or her big blue eyes. None of them had her amazing laugh, none of them gave him shivers with just one touch, and none of them ever would. Because of how he felt, Daniel loved to see Tsuna happy, he lived to see the girl he loved smile and laugh. So of course, no matter how much trouble he could possibly get into, he could never tell Tsuna no when she looked at him so eagerly, so expectantly and therefore, he would make sure Tsuna got to joust. Daniel smiled back at Tsuna, they locked eyes like they do all the time but Tsuna still didn't notice the love in Daniel's eyes. She saw a friend, a best friend who loved her as a _friend_, she saw a guy who went after every girl _but_ her and Daniel was completely fine with that. He was fine with anything as long as Tsuna was happy and safe.

"Yes!" Tsuna basically yelled "you're awesome Dan!" Tsuna said as she threw herself at Daniel and gave him a hug. Tsuna was beaming with happiness, and Daniel was content.

"I know, I'm a super badass. You're so lucky to have me as your friend" Daniel said smugly. Tsuna let go of him and punched his arm lightly, or maybe it was hard to her but it certainly didn't hurt him. She tried to feign a grumpy look. Daniel gently punched her arm as payback and it made Tsuna misstep and almost fall. She lost her grumpy look and went back to smiling like she couldn't be happier.

"_You're_ lucky I'm too happy to argue with you right now" she said before giggling. Daniel chuckled at her and turned to look at Hiro.

"Shouldn't you guys be off strategizing so that maybe you'll stand a chance against me and Tsu?" He mocked his friends. Hiro put his hand that wasn't holding onto Allen up to his heart and gave of noise of hurt.

"Do you really think that little of our teamwork?" Hiro said, his voice dripping with false sorrow. Allen let out a soft chuckle from next to him.

"Maybe he's really just scared and wants us to go away so he doesn't feel threatened anymore" Allen said and gave Daniel a taunting look. Daniel grinned and broke out into a laugh.

"Me? Afraid of you?" Daniel had to stop speaking while he laughed some more "you're funny aren't you Al?" Daniel was bent over slightly holding his stomach giving the couple his signature laugh. Hiro mocked a sad face and Allen chuckled at Daniel's laughter.

"Tonight's show was free but tomorrow you gotta pay" Allen said causing Daniel to laugh even louder, he started to look like a retarded, mute, seal as his laughter went from boisterous to silent shoulder and head shaking. Tears gather in the corners of his eyes and at that point Tsuna had begun laughing as well. Daniel put his left arm over Tsuna's right shoulder to keep himself from falling. Tsuna was laughing hysterically at Daniel's laughing and Daniel was laughing at Tsuna's laughter each of them leaning against each other to support themselves as they became a pile of laughter. Hiro and Allen watched amused, occasionally chuckling at a funny noise from one of their friends. Off to the side they saw Jean, Connie and Sasha approaching. Connie and Sasha looked greatly amused and Jean looked torn between horrified or highly entertained.

"Should we be worried?" Jean asked as he stopped next to Hiro who chuckled at the honesty of the question. Daniel and Tsuna had finally managed to calm down some but at Jean's question laughter burst uncontrollably from their mouths again.

"Nah, this happens sometimes. Just gotta let them get it out of their systems" Hiro's words made Tsuna and Daniel laugh even harder and at that point they both slowly collapsed to the ground. Tsuna was on her hands and knees, or rather one hand and knees because the other hand was clutching her abdomen. Daniel was halfway draped over Tsuna's back, one hand trying to support his weight so he didn't crush Tsuna and the other covering his eyes trying to maintain control of the tears that slipped passed his eyelids.

"This is hilarious" Connie said from next to Jean. He and Sasha had huge ass grins on their faces and you could hear them stifling their laughter. Jean was busy listening to Tsuna's laugh, he thought it was fitting and adorable. She occasionally let out a weird sounding laugh or wheeze as she tried to breathe properly, her mouth was left constantly open and her whole body shook with each laugh. She tried to reach back to push Daniel off of her but her arm bent against him instead of moving him. Jean thought she was beautiful like that, happy and energetic. He thought she was beautiful because she looked alive, not half dead or depressed like most people looked, she wasn't held back or restrained by fear of the titans, she was alive and free and suddenly he saw his own version of Eren's vision of freedom. He understood Eren's want to go outside and be alive and free and _live_, he was never really able to fully picture what it would be like or what Eren wished to gain but now he saw it, he saw it in Tsuna and he was filled with hope and happiness for the first time in a long time. He wanted a life like that, he wanted a world like that, happy and alive and _free_. He let thoughts about a life with the white haired girl fill his mind and he found himself blushing ever so slightly. Tsuna and Daniel finally collapsed completely and their laughter slowly died out. They were left a panting heap on the ground while the others looked on in amusement. Off to the side a ways, the other Survey corps members and even some of the other 105th trainees had been watching the spectacle with mostly humor. Ymir looked amused and annoyed while Historia looked the tiniest bit worried. Reiner and Bertolt had been watching and they smiled and chuckled at Tsuna and Daniel. Reiner thought about how Tsuna's laugh seemed so endearing and innocent and Bertolt thought about how beautiful she looked when she smiled and he laughed at the noises she occasionally made. Tsuna and Daniel finally managed to stand up, each letting out noises of hard breathing and occasional chuckles. Daniel wiped the tears from his eyes and Tsuna dusted herself off.

"Oh man, that was good. You should joke around more often Allen." Daniel said, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

"Whoo, I'm light headed" Tsuna said as she put her arms out to her side to keep her balance.

"You guys ready to go get some food now?" Hiro asked, his happiness could be heard in his voice. Tsuna and Daniel agreed and they started walking towards the mess hall. Hiro, Allen and Daniel walked ahead of Tsuna who was slightly ahead of Jean, Connie and Sasha. Tsuna was still kinda wobbly and light headed and found herself looking for something to hold onto. She found purchase on Jean who had walked up next to her to stabilize her. She grabbed onto his arm like it was a lifeline and smiled up at him.

"Thank you" she said happily. Jean blushed a little and realized that although she was leaning on him with at least half her weight, she was extremely light and he thought for a moment that he could probably pick her up in one arm no problem. He grunted a 'no problem' and turned away from Tsuna to hide his pink cheeks. They walked into the mess hall and over to the food lines. Daniel, Hiro and Allen went to then left line and Jean, Tsuna, Connie and Sasha went to the other. "You guys want to eat with us again today?" Tsuna asked looking up at Jean. She had let go of his arm but she stood close to him because she was still faintly dizzy. She turned and looked at Connie and Sasha too.

"Sure" Connie said happily. Sasha nodded with a smile from next to Connie so Tsuna looked back up to Jean for his answer. He knew before she even finished that the answer was yes. She could have asked him to go dive into a lake from a 30 foot cliff and he would've said yes. There was no way he could say no to that smile and those expecting eyes. He realized that he had fallen for Tsuna quite hard after only a day. Hell, who wouldn't? Even Connie had admitted that she was cute and seemed really fun but he stressed that he didn't like her. Jean thought that he had probably been defending his feelings for Sasha. He wondered how they hadn't become a thing yet, they were both so dorky and sporadic and Jean was pretty sure Sasha liked Connie so he didn't understand why they didn't just hook up already.

"Of course" he said to answer Tsuna's question and he received a gleeful smile in return. Not only did he enjoy eating with Tsuna but he also like her friends, they were interesting and easy going and they were easy to get along with. He remembered how he had felt the same way about Marco and he felt his chest get tight from the repressed sadness he held. He was brought out of his thoughts by a hand on his arm.

"Are you okay?" Tsuna asked from next to him. She was the one touching him, and she looked genuinely concerned. "You were making a sad face…" Tsuna said even more quietly and he shook the rest of his negative feelings aside so he could give her a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine" he said and Tsuna stayed gazing at him a few more seconds before accepting his answer and turning towards the front of the line. He didn't know if she believed the answer or not but he was happy she didn't press the issue, he really didn't want to talk about that right now or ever. After they got their food they followed Tsuna to the table where Connie and Jean had sat with them before. Once again Hiro and Allen were sitting together and so were Amy and William only this time, Daniel sat next to William whereas Daniel hadn't even ate with them before. This time Jean sat next to Hiro and Tsuna sat next to Jean, Connie sat next to Daniel and Sasha sat on Connie's other side. Jean blushed when Tsuna chose to sit next to him and he felt something nudge his arm. He looked over to see Hiro grinning and giving him a thumbs up, this caused Jean to blush more and look down at his food. From next to him, Tsuna grabbed her bread and some vegetables and then once again pushed her other food towards the middle of the table. Today there was some sort of roast with carrots, potatoes and green beans. Jean looked over at Tsuna and thought about how she had said she didn't eat meat. It was endearing and awe-inspiring that she was able to fully dedicate herself to something like that. The fact that she valued life so much that she refused to contribute to the deaths of animals was impressive and it showed just how innocent she really was. She cared, even about things that others found miniscule, things that others only used and took advantage of. He found himself enraptured by her innocence, by her liveliness and free spirit. He also found himself staring at her with a small smile on his face when she happened to look up at him. His embarrassment of getting caught staring brought him out of his trance and he looked back at his food. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sasha eyeing the food Tsuna hadn't eaten.

"Uh, you going to eat that?" Sasha asked and Jean could've sworn she was drooling. There wasn't much meat, mostly vegetables or broth but any meat was still meat to Sasha. Tsuna looked over to Sasha.

"No" Tsuna said softly.

"She doesn't eat that kinda stuff so leave her alone about it" Jean said trying to get Sasha to shut up. He remembered how embarrassed Tsuna had been and he didn't want to see her ashamed of herself again. He hadn't liked that look of self-depreciation in her eyes, she was something to be proud of and nobody should ever tell her otherwise.

"Huh?! What? Why not?" Sasha seemed shocked that someone would willingly give up their food. "The meat is so tender and tasty. I wonder what it's from. Aww, I want to go hunting now." Sasha said dejectedly. "I wonder if I could get a boar, or some bird" Sasha rambled about all the different things she could hunt.

"Oi, Sasha, be quiet" Jean snapped, he was worried that Sasha talking about hunting might make Tsuna sad and he really didn't want Tsuna to be sad. Sasha ignored his comment, seeming to be in a land of her own where she had all sorts of game to hunt and kill.

"What about some deer- oh! Venison would be so good!" There was a clank heard from next to Jean and he turned to look. Tsuna had dropped her fork and was staring wide eyed at Sasha like she just killed a baby. Tsuna's eyes started to water and soon there were tears streaking down her face. Jean looked shocked, he didn't know what to say or do to get her to stop crying. Across from Tsuna Sasha was going on about smoked venison and how good it would taste. Tsuna's eyes were glued to Sasha like she was a monster, tears overflowed from her eyes and her lip quivered. Jean turned angrily towards Sasha.

"Sasha! Shut up!" Jean basically yelled at said girl. Sasha stopped her rant and looked at Jean angrily for bringing her out of her fantasy meat world. Now that Sasha wasn't blabbering Jean could hear soft sniffles coming from Tsuna. At that point, everyone at the table had saw what was going on. Connie gave Sasha a scowl as she looked around confused and Hiro leaned forward over the table to look at Tsuna past Jean, he was wearing a worried expression. Daniel, William and Amy didn't know what happened so they looked on anxious and confused. Allen was glaring at Sasha and Sasha was looking at Tsuna like she was crazy. Daniel had been about to ask what happened but Hiro silently shushed him with a finger against his lips. Hiro wanted to see what Jean would do, if he was good for Tsuna or not. He was going to use this opportunity to test the guy and see if he was worthy of his friend. Jean didn't pay attention to anyone but Tsuna, he looked at her and gently grabbed her by her chin and turned her to face him, and to stop looking at Sasha. "Tsuna, are you okay?" Jean asked Tsuna quietly. Tsuna stared at him with wet cheeks from her tears and occasional sniffling or quiet sobbing. Their eyes locked and for the first time, Tsuna noticed someone's affection for her. She didn't know what it meant or what it stemmed from, but she saw and felt the care and concern, the affection, from Jean. She shook her head no and threw her arms around his middle and hid her face in his chest. From behind Jean, Hiro smiled slightly at the sight and decided that Jean may be good for Tsuna after all. It took Jean a second to react but he quickly pulled Tsuna tight against his chest and began stoking her hair. _ I think girls are supposed to like this_ he thought to himself, unsure of whether he was comforting Tsuna or just annoying her. He figured he must be doing something right because she hugged him tighter and nuzzled his chest with her head. "It's okay" he whispered against the top of her head where he was resting his own head, he kept saying quiet words of reassurance to her. Slowly but surely Tsuna's shoulders stopped shaking and the sobbing was no longer heard. Tsuna rested against him a few more moments before pulling away and wiping her eyes. Jean noticed there were tear marks on his shirt but it didn't matter to him, he was relieved that he had actually been able to get to stop crying. He looked at her happily a few more seconds before turning to give Sasha a pissed off look.

"What?" Sasha asked like Jean had no right to be glaring at her.

"'What'?!" Jean copied Sasha incredulously "what do you mean 'what'? Are you kidding me? _Your_ dumbass made her cry!" Jean all but yelled at Sasha.

"How did _I_ make her cry?" Sasha asked defensively, she gestured towards Tsuna at 'her'.

"You and your talk about hunting!" Jean said through clenched teeth "Can't you think about something besides your stomach for once?" Tsuna was staring across the table at Sasha, a horrified expression on her face.

"What are you talking about Jean?" Sasha's tone was bored, she talked like Jean was wasting her time. Jean felt his anger grow at Sasha's lack of concern. Next to him Tsuna had averted her gaze downward

"Are you serious?" Jean roughly brought his closed fist onto the table top. At that, Tsuna quickly stood up and ran towards the mess hall entrance. She held a hand up to her eyes to hide her tears. Almost everyone had stopped what they were doing and watched as Tsuna sprinted for the door. "Tsuna!" Jean called out but Tsuna didn't stop, didn't look back. She ran forward and out the entrance. She turned to head towards the barracks when she suddenly felt like she hit a wall. Before she knew it she was flying backwards and hand landed heavily on her rear. She looked up and blinked the tears out of her eyes to see what she ran into. She was shocked to see the legs of a person. Her eyes followed the legs up to their body and then to the person's head. She let out a gas as she met Bertolt's eyes. Bertolt looked down at Tsuna in surprise, he had been turned around talking to Reiner when he felt someone run into his back, he hadn't expected that someone to be Tsuna. He noticed she was crying and went to ask her what was wrong.

"Sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Tsuna was interrupted as a sob escaped from her mouth. More tears spilled down her face and she returned her arm to its spot over her eyes. "I'm sorry" Tsuna said again quietly, her voice shaking from her crying. She couldn't bring herself to look at Bertolt, she couldn't move her arm from her face. All she could do was cry, she didn't know why she was crying so hard. The whole time that Sasha had been talking about hunting Tsuna had gotten more and more sad and upset, but when Sasha mentioned venison Tsuna couldn't take it. How could someone hurt a baby? Even though it wasn't a human it was still a baby, it had feelings, it got scared, it did all the things humans did just in different ways. It broke Tsuna's heart hearing someone talk so casually about death, didn't life mean anything to Sasha? Bertolt looked down at Tsuna with a worried expression.

"Tsuna, it's okay. What's wrong?" He crouched down and hesitantly placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Tsuna couldn't stop crying, all she could think about was how sad it was that people killed things so needlessly, so selfishly. Reiner walked up next to Bertolt and looked at Tsuna with concern.

"Tsuna, what happened?" Reiner asked gently, not wanting to upset her more but wanting to know what happened so that maybe he could comfort her. At Reiner's question Tsuna let out a cry, she brought her knees up to her chest and covered her eyes with both hands. Reiner and Bertolt looked at each other, troubled and confused expressions plastered on their faces.

"Tsuna" Bertolt said gently "please tell us what-"

"Oh! Tsuna! There you are." Sasha said as she came running out of the building. Bertolt felt Tsuna tense up from where he still had his hand on her shoulder. Sasha slowed down as she neared the trio, stopping a couple feet behind Tsuna. "Listen Tsuna, I'm sorry I upset you. Jean and Connie told me how you feel about that kinda stuff. I didn't know that there were people who felt that way. I wanted to apologize and try to explain to you that people don't hunt to hurt animals, usually people do it to feed themselves and their families or sometimes for game. Don't worry though, most of the times the animals die fast and they don't even see it coming" Sasha explained with a smile "it's not like people intentionally hurt the animals, or at least normal people don't. I'm sorry though, I shoulda noticed that you were uncomfortable when I started talking about it" Sasha finished, she looked pleased with herself and wore a small smile. Tsuna took her hands from her face and turned to face Sasha from her spot on the ground.

"Let me ask you something," Tsuna said looking up to Sasha with a serious expression, tears still covered her cheeks "do you like it when the titans eat humans?" Tsuna's voice was quiet and severe. Sasha's eyes widened at the meaning of her words.

"I don't think that's the-" Sasha wasn't able to finish.

"Do you like it when titans eat humans?!" Tsuna had raised her voice and now bore an angry look. Sasha's eyes widened and her eyebrows pulled together. She was quiet for a good ten to fifteen second before she answered.

"No." Sasha's voice was quiet and cautious. Tsuna's look got angrier and her teeth ground together.

"Then how could you do the same thing to all those poor animals?" Tsuna said, her glare unrelenting.

"It's not the same though, humans-"

"How isn't it the same?!" Tsuna shouted angrily "titans eat humans because they can, because humans are weaker! Titans hunt humans to eat! They don't feel bad, they just do. Adults, teens, babies! They don't care. They prey on humans, they eat them, they kill them for their own selfish wants! How is that no different from you?! How is that no different from you killing a baby dear for its meat?! For its taste?! You think that those animals want to die? Do you think they don't feel pain or sorrow?! They cry like humans! They run from people like you like humans run from titans! How is it not the same?!" Tsuna had stood up and was yelling at Sasha, tears leaking from her hate filled eyes and running down her cheeks. She had thrown her arms out to her side and stood there waiting for an answer. Sasha had a shocked expression in her face, as did Reiner and Bertolt along with Jean and Connie who had followed Sasha outside. Sasha stared at Tsuna a few more seconds before looking at the ground. Her eyes were wide as realization set in. She couldn't say anything to that. She had never once thought of things that way, she had only ever saw the hunt and her prey. Now that she thought about Tsuna's words she was scared. _Is that how the titans feel? Is that how they see us? _She asked herself. Humans were just prey to titans, titans didn't care if you were old or young, screaming and crying, they only cared about eating humans. While every once and a while Sasha felt bad for her prey, it never stopped her from killing and eating that prey. Was she really just like the titans? Were humans really that horrible? She slowly looked back at Tsuna who was still waiting for her answer. The atmosphere was thick. Nobody said anything. Tsuna's eyes were filled with an abundance of overwhelming emotions and Sasha let her eyes drop again. "Well?!" Tsuna spoke harshly.

"That's enough Tsuna!" Hiro had walked up to Tsuna and grabbed her arm to turn Tsuna to face him "just stop okay" Hiro said, meeting Tsuna's heated gaze with an equally tempered one. Tsuna jerked her arm from his hand.

"It's not okay! Don't you dare tell me to stop! Either be there for me or get out of my way _friend_" At Tsuna's words, Hiro's expression was torn between angered and pained. Tsuna turned back to Sasha with a venomous expression "So? Tell me how you're different, tell me how you're less of a _killer_ than the titans!"

"Tsuna! I said enough" Tsuna was about to rebuttal but Hiro's hand across her face silenced her. Tsuna's head was turned to the side by the force of the slap. Her eyes got wide and the anger in them was replaced with hurt and sadness. Her left cheek slowly reddened where Hiro's hand had connected to her face. She slowly raised a hand to cover the mark, trying to ease the sting. Daniel ran up to Hiro and pushed him roughly, Hiro staggered back.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Daniel yelled at Hiro, grabbing his uniform's front and pulling him close. Tsuna couldn't watch, she couldn't move, all she could do was stand there holding her cheek. Hiro just slapped her, she couldn't comprehend it, she couldn't believe it. Her friend, one of her best friends, had just slapped her. She knew why, she shouldn't have said all those things, she remembered Hiro said he wouldn't allow her to say such things anymore, but she couldn't believe he actually did that. She never thought he would act on his threat, she never thought he would betray her like that.

"You know exactly what I'm doing! Don't act like its okay for her to say those things! You know she had to be stopped" Daniel gritted his teeth together at Hiro's words and pulled him closer. "What if Shadis had come back? What if one of the other officers heard her?! What then?"

"So you slapped her?! There are tons of other ways to get someone to be quiet! You could have just covered her mouth, shoved some bread in it! Hell, you even could have pinched her or something! But _slap_ her? Are you fucking kidding me?!" Daniel was pissed, how dare Hiro slap her. He knew Hiro's reasons, he knew Tsuna had needed to shut up, but he _never_ would have slapped her. Daniel raised his fist ready to punch Hiro but Allen came from behind and grabbed his arm before he could connect to Hiro's face. "How dare you" Daniel said quietly, not a soft or gentle quiet, but a quiet that spoke louder than any shout or yell. Hiro's angry and defensive gaze suddenly got softer as realization set in. He had slapped his best friend, the most important person in his life besides Allen. He looked over at Tsuna who was now buried in Bertolt's chest. He could see her shoulders shaking, her wide eyes spilling tears, hand covering her cheek. At that moment he hated himself, he thoroughly hated himself for what he did. Daniel threw him to the ground and Allen rushed over to his side but Hiro didn't notice him, all he could see was Tsuna. He hurt her, he made her cry. He knew how she felt and he supported her, his goal hadn't been to tell her she was wrong, it was to stop her before someone important heard. If someone heard her talking about how humans were just as bad as titans she could have gotten in serious trouble. Some people would consider it treason. He had been so worried and scared for her that he acted without thinking. Daniel gave him one last look of rage before walking to Bertolt who was still hugging Tsuna. "Tsuna" Daniel said gently and before he had time to react, Tsuna had pulled away from Bertolt and rushed into his chest. She gripped at Daniel's uniform and nuzzled into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders and held her tightly. He kissed the top of her head. "Go lie down, I'll make up something to tell Shadis okay?" he said as he softly pushed at her shoulders to look at her face. He couldn't believe Hiro, sure Tsuna should know better but _slapping_ her? And now, looking at her tear stained face Daniel felt his heart break. He should have been there to protect her, to stop Hiro. He looked over at Hiro and saw that he was crying, Allen was trying to comfort him while looking over at Tsuna every few seconds obviously torn between being there for his boyfriend and being there for his wronged friend, his best friend. Everybody in their group had one thing in common, they all loved Tsuna in some way. For Hiro and Allen it was friendly love, but for Daniel it was more. Sure Hiro and Allen cared about Tsuna, they each said that she was the most important person in their life, but since they had fallen in love with each other Daniel knew that wasn't true anymore, and so did they. Daniel was the only one who stilled cared more about Tsuna than anyone else, he cared more about her than he did himself. Tsuna nodded up at him and tried wiping her tears away but they were quickly replaced. Daniel looked over to Bertolt and Reiner "Will you guys go with her?" Daniel asked them.

"Yeah" Reiner said as he walked closer to Tsuna who had grabbed onto Daniel's shirt at his question. He didn't look down at her, he just picked her up and handed her to Reiner. He refused to look, he know what he would see, her eyes pleading for him to stay by her, for him not to leave her. He couldn't answer that plea, he never could, because he didn't want his feelings to slip out. He couldn't let them resurface, it would only make things worse, so for now, he had to be strong and let someone else be there for her. Seeing the girl he loved cry her heart out made him ache, it made his chest twist in agony and he wanted to answer that plea but if he did it would hurt their friendship, it would make things worse in the long run because he knew that things wouldn't be the same if she knew. And now that she was finally noticing things like affection and feelings like that, he couldn't risk letting his own feelings slip out from the mask he had made. So he watched as Reiner carried her away, he was someone better suited for Tsuna. Yea, he was a horrible person, but he was a horrible person who was strong, who would be able to protect Tsuna and that was all that mattered to Daniel. He knew that someone like that Jean guy could make Tsuna happier than Bertolt or Reiner, but Jean wasn't as strong as them, he didn't have the same powers that they did. If titans ever overran wall Rose, Reiner and Bertolt could protect Tsuna better than Jean and that's why he wanted her to choose them. He had already talked to them about Tsuna when they came back from their walk last night. He had been able to tell that they liked her and he had also been able tell that they were the same monsters who had cause thousands of people's deaths.

He had asked them what their intentions were. They tried acting like they didn't know what he meant but he was having none of that.

"What would people like you want with someone like her?" he had asked them "do you realize that she would hate you if she found out what you were?" They had looked shocked.

"How do you know-" Daniel had cut Reiner off.

"Answer my questions and I might answer yours." He said seriously. Bertolt and Reiner had looked at each other for a few seconds before Reiner told Daniel that they had no intentions of hurting her and that their intentions were just as they seemed, they were drawn to the girl and liked her. They planned on hiding their secret from her for as long as possible which would hopefully be forever. Then Daniel asked what they had to offer Tsuna that the 'undercut kid' didn't. Bertolt had answered almost right away.

"We can protect her. Even if she figures out that we are who we are and hates us, we could protect her. Even if titans somehow got inside the wall, we could save her" Daniel understood what he meant, while Reiner and Bertolt may not break anymore gates, there was still the beast titan and possibly many other threats. Daniel knew his words were true, he knew that people like them, ruthless murderers with enormous strength, could protect Tsuna better than anyone else could.

"The question is, _would_ you? Would her protect her with your lives? Would you protect her if it meant you had to kill more people? Would you be able to sacrifice your humanity to save her just like you did when you killed a piece of her?" Daniel asked in all seriousness. The answer didn't come as quick as the last, it was thought out and deliberate. Reiner met Daniel's hard gaze with equal resolve.

"Of course"

"Even if she fought you, if she hated you and cursed you?"

"She wouldn't be the first" Reiner said solemnly.

"That doesn't answer the question" Daniel said, he needed straight answers, he needed to make sure that Tsuna would be safe, no matter what.

"Even if she tried to kill us, we'd make sure she was safe." Reiner said and next to him Bertolt nodded in agreement, his eyes also filled with determination.

"Well, I don't know what your reasons are, or why you've taken to her so fast, but as long as you can protect her and be there for her that's all I care about." Daniel had said and then went to check on Tsuna and that's when he had argued with Hiro about Reiner and Bertolt being better than Jean. It was hard for him, he knew that Jean would make her happier, that Tsuna could truly love someone like Jean, but he was willing to overlook that to guarantee her safety. If the time ever came where Tsuna really would need protected, he would let Bertolt and Reiner protect her and if he could, he would make sure that he would be there to keep her happy if need be. He may not ever get to be with Tsuna, but that would never stop him from being there for her or doing his best to protect her.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this chapter took so long, I let my brother borrow my laptop and he ended up turning it off before I could save the chapter. So I ended up having to redo most of it and I decided to cut it short because it wasn't flowing like it had before. Hope it's still decent, I was really frustrated with having to rewrite it because things are never as good as the original... Enjoy :)

Reiner had carried Tsuna to the barracks, at first she had resisted and insisted she stay with Daniel but after a few seconds of struggling she had all but went limp in Reiner's hold. Once they had gotten inside Tsuna had wiggled her way from Reiner's grasp and jumped face first onto her bed, burring her head under her pillow. The two boys watched her lay there and cry, her shoulders shook and although her sobs were muffled they were still audible. They weren't sure how to deal with her so they ended up sitting on the bed next to hers, watching her cry. Bertolt wasn't sure what it was about the girl that he was attracted to, not physically because she was obviously pretty, but in general he didn't know why he was so taken by her. He loved Reiner, he never once thought he'd need anyone else, he never once thought of a polyamorous life, but as soon as he had saw Tsuna he felt a need to be close to her. He had gotten flustered, Reiner had noticed and, after Levi and Shadis had left, he approached Bertolt asking what was bothering him. Bertolt was afraid that his boyfriend would be hurt by his feelings but he found out that Reiner was in the same boat as he was and had also been worried about hurting Bertolt's feelings. Bertolt was even more upset about his feelings now that he knew Tsuna had been affected by what he and Reiner had done in Shiganshina. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head towards Reiner who was giving him a small, love filled smile. It made Bertolt relax, it reminded him that everything would be okay as long as he had Reiner. He returned the smile and placed his own hand and Reiner's leg. Reiner looked towards Tsuna who had gotten quieter as she calmed down. She pushed herself up with her hands and the pillow fell off her head. She stayed there on her hands and knees, thinking about what had just happened, she didn't resent Hiro, she resented herself. Hiro had warned her several times that talking like that around others wasn't safe, but she let herself get worked up and ignored his warnings. What if Shadis or some other officer _had_ heard her? She could have been arrested and locked up, she could have been executed. She balled up the bed sheet in her fist and girt her teeth. She didn't know if she should be mad at _Hiro_ for going too far and hurting her, if she should be mad at _herself_ for speaking out of term, or if she should be mad at Daniel for not staying with her. He was always there for her when nobody else was, they had each other's backs, it was like an unspoken law between them yet he had pushed her away. He handed her off like she meant nothing. Sure Reiner and Bertolt were okay, they were nice and nice looking but they weren't very comforting. Hell, if he was going to hand her off to some random guys she would have preferred Jean and Connie. They were nice and funny but more importantly, Jean's presence was reassuring. He put her at ease while Reiner and Bertolt's presence made her tense up slightly. It wasn't that she didn't like them, they seemed nice and all but there was something off about them. She couldn't name it, but she was sure that there was something to be cautious of. She found herself glancing over towards them, they were talking amongst themselves, something about their Survey corps squad, but Tsuna wasn't paying attention. She was trying to find what made them seem _off_.

_Maybe it's their ethnicity… nah, they look fairly normal. Is it their height? Maybe I'm just intimidated… no, I don't think that's it, I look up at practically everybody. I don't think it has to do with their physical appearances, something about _them_ in general, their presence, is weird. It's like every time I'm around them, my instincts start screaming at me, I get this urge to run, it's spooky. And their eyes are like endless pools filled with some off putting emotion. Like when I looked them in the eye for the first time, after noticing how nice they looked, there was something in them that made me feel like prey. Their eyes are predatory, it's like looking a hungry wolf in the eyes when you're lost and unarmed in the forest._ Tsuna thought to herself as she stared at the two. At first glance the two of them looked like normal handsome teens but at some point during their walk the night before Tsuna had found that their presence, especially Reiner's, was more intimidating than it should have been. Not only that, but they had acted strangely about certain things, and then there was Hiro and Daniel's argument before bed. While she really wanted to know what was _off_ about the two of them, she figured that if Daniel trusted them to be all alone with her then there was no reason to worry at the moment. She realized that she had distracted herself from her sorrow and anger and figured she was okay to get back to training, thankfully their lunch time hadn't quite ended so Daniel wouldn't have to risk trouble by covering for her absence. Reiner and Bertolt were brought out of their conversation by Tsuna standing up, Reiner readied himself to grab her but she spoke before he could.

"I'm fine, I want to get back before Shadis does so I'm going now." Their following looks of disbelief told her that they didn't buy it. "Really, I'm fine. I know Dan asked you to watch me, but I'm not a child and I've had time to calm down." Reiner was relieved because he really didn't want to end up having to try and stop her and end up on his face again.

"Alright, if you insist" Reiner said as he put his hands up in surrender. Tsuna gave them a small smile before walking back to the mess hall. As she walked in she noticed that Daniel was sitting at their normal table with Amy, Jean, Connie and Sasha. Unsurprisingly Hiro and Allen weren't there but what was surprising is that Tsuna saw William sitting at a table further back along with Hiro and Allen. He and Amy _always_ sat together and walked around together but William was with Hiro and Amy was with Daniel. Tsuna walked towards her normal table where Daniel, Amy and the Survey corps members were. Daniel noticed her first and looked equal parts happy and distressed. Tsuna walked up to Sasha who was sitting across from Daniel at the end seat of the table. Sasha looked up at her wearily, expecting more hostility. Tsuna looked down at her with an unreadable, somewhat harsh face before her expression turned soft and more friendly.

"I'm sorry for blowing up at you like that, I shouldn't take my anger out on you" Tsuna said looking somewhat sheepish "while it does upset me, you have every right to live your life the way you want to and I'm in no position to question that. I hate it when people get on me about _not_ hunting or eating meat so I shouldn't get on you about hunting or eating what you like." Tsuna's expression had turned unhappy, but it was obvious she was unhappy with herself and not Sasha.

"It's okay, I should have paid attention. I felt really bad after Jean and Connie told me how you felt. It's me who should apologize." Sasha said looking as sheepish as Tsuna had. "I think it's cool that you're able to be different for something you believe in" Sasha finished with a friendly smile.

"But I said some things to you that I shouldn't have and for that I truly am sorry, I had no right to project my feelings onto you like that" Tsuna said still looking disappointed in herself.

"No, I'm glad you did, I never really thought about anything like that but since you said it, I realized that I should at least be more grateful and appreciative of the lives I take. I don't want to be some mindless killer like the titans, so I'm going to be thankful for every animal that dies in order to feed me" Sasha said and Tsuna had to look up from the floor to double check for honesty and she found it.

"Yea, I think it wouldn't hurt to appreciate life a little more" Connie said from next to Sasha. Tsuna's gaze snapped towards him at his words. "I always looked at meat and saw meat. I never thought about how it used to be living, it was always about what it tasted like but now I feel like I should be aware of the value of what I'm eating instead of just the taste" Connie noticed Tsuna's overjoyed expression and blushed out of embarrassment of his sentimental words "or something like that" he tried to cover up his embarrassment with off handed words but it only made Tsuna smile more.

"That's amazing you guys" Tsuna said, beaming with happiness. Sasha and Connie grinned back at her. Tsuna looked over at Daniel who was smiling solemnly.

"You're something else Tsu" He said and her smile was replaced by a look of confusion. Her head tilted to the side ever so slightly but Daniel shrugged her curiosity to the side. She figured he wouldn't explain himself so she just sighed and didn't bother. Tsuna looked around for the table that Hiro was at and saw him a few tables behind them to the left of the walkway whereas their regular table was on the right.

"I'll be right back" she said before she started walking towards Hiro who was facing away from her. As she approached him William, who was across the table from Allen who was next to Hiro, looked up causing Hiro and Allen to look back at her as well. Hiro's face lit up with shock and a variety of self-loathing emotions and he averted his gaze to the floor instead of meeting Tsuna's own. "Hello" Tsuna said more as an ice breaker than an actual greeting.

"Hi" Hiro said simply as he turned back to the table, Tsuna walked to William's side and sat down so she was across from Hiro. Her eyes stayed locked on him the whole time and he guiltily looked everywhere but the space she occupied. Allen and William kept looking between Hiro and Tsuna, there was tangible tension in the air, mostly from Hiro. Hiro had his hands balled into tight fists, resting on the table top. His eyes were trying to glare holes through said hands and if it was possible, he would have succeeded. His whole aura screamed self-hate and it was very clear that he was upset with himself. Tsuna reached over and gently grabbed one of his fists in her hand. His head snapped up and his eyes got wide with shock. His mouth hung open and Tsuna had to tell herself not to giggle at his response, instead she offered him a friendly, reassuring smile.

"Thank you" Tsuna said softly and Hiro's eyes got even wider. He was not only surprised at her words, but at the purity of them. No matter how he tried to twist her words, there was no denying that they were genuine, she was really thanking him. Tsuna saw his confusion and disbelief and elaborated, "If you hadn't stopped me, I could have been in serious trouble. Sure it wasn't the best or nicest way to get the job done, and it did hurt both physically and internally," Hiro looked away and cringed at those words "and I really did resent you for a few moments" Hiro's fist tightened "but I know you didn't do it out of hate or spite, you were only trying to protect me and for that, I'm thankful." Tsuna finished. Hiro was looking so far down that his eyes were covered or shadowed by his shaggy blond hair. He was quiet for a few moments before he spoke

"You shouldn't be, I'm so sorry Tsu!" Hiro and clenched his fists again, still not meeting Tsuna's gaze.

"I thought it was pretty clear I'd already forgiven you" Tsuna's tone was gentle and content. Hiro ripped his fist from her hand and finally looked up. Tsuna saw rage and more self-loathing along with tears flowing from Hiro's eyes.

"No! It's not okay, I'm horrible and you shouldn't even be talking to me! I slapped you! Do yourself a favor and walk away, don't talk to me ever-" a sound resembling wimpy thunder was heard from around Tsuna and William. William's eyes were wide with shock and Tsuna was glaring at him.

"Don't ever tell me to walk away from a friend!" Tsuna managed through clenched teeth. Hiro lifted his hand to his cheek to rub of the sting. "If it wasn't okay before it is now, we're even." Hiro's hand stayed on his cheek but a smile crept onto his face.

"If you say so" Hiro mumbled, trying to play it cool but he was obviously happy. Tsuna's slap barely hurt, but like Tsuna had said it made them even. If Tsuna wanted by-gones to be by-gones then who was he to tell her no. "I'm going to go back to Dan and them now so don't go sulking again" Tsuna gave Hiro another smile and walked back to her other friends. When she approached the table she could her snickering from several people. Irritation crossed her features when she realized they had been eavesdropping. She stopped to stand next to Daniel.

"'_No it's not okay_'" Daniel tried his best to match Hiro's voice as he mocked him with a chuckle. Tsuna whacked him on the back of the head and he gave a sheepish look. "Sorry, couldn't help myself" he said holding back more laughter.

"So Amy," Amy redirected her attention from her boyfriend a few tables away to Tsuna "why aren't you with Will?"

"Uh, well we are having a disagreement." Amy had started with no confidence but by the end of her sentence she had her arms crossed and her head held up like she was proud.

"Over what?" Tsuna said, now casually leaning against Daniel's back. Daniel didn't mind at all, not only did she hardly weigh anything but he couldn't care less about what she did to him.

"Well he thought that Hiro slapping you was okay but I think it was totally uncalled for" She said as she sent a glare towards William who had been looking her way. He flinched and ducked his head to the side to get away from Amy's scrutinizing glare.

"Yea, so the people who were mad at Hiro stayed here and he was banished" Daniel said haughtily.

"Banished?" Tsuna asked in an exasperated tone. Daniel only chuckled in response.

"Amy, go over to your boyfriend. This is ridiculous." Tsuna said feigning anger but the smile creeping onto her lips gave her away. Amy smiled back and nodded as she quick-walked over to William who greeted her with a huge grin and bear hug.

"Tch, gross" Daniel mumbled and Tsuna heard.

"Whoa, what crawled up your ass?" Tsuna asked with a nudge to Daniel's back. Of course Daniel wanted to say he was jealous that William had the girl he liked but he, on the other hand, had been hardcore friend-zoned for years by Tsuna, but there was no way in hell that was coming out of his mouth so he settled for nudging Tsuna back, resulting in Tsuna loosing balance and having to grab Daniel's shirt to stay vertical, and giving a week apology which turned in to laughter at Tsuna's would-be fall.

"Here," Daniel said as he held out a small loaf of bread for Tsuna "you didn't eat anything, and I don't think you have enough time to get your own, so I saved this for you." Tsuna grabbed them bread with a huge smile, excitement shone through her eyes.

"You're the best Daniel!" She said around the bread as she stuffed her face. She had been really hungry but she had figured she'd just have to suck it up. As Tsuna hastily finished off the loaf, Daniel offered her a cup full of an unknown liquid. Tsuna grabbed it and drank it without looking to see what it was. _Uck water,_ the plain flavorless taste gave it away. Still, she chugged it all down and wiped the excess off her lips. Daniel chuckled at her eagerness and Tsuna went to glare at him but as she looked up she realized Jean was still there sitting next to Daniel. He looked upset and Tsuna worried he was upset at her because of the things she had said. She walked behind Daniel and then cautiously behind Jean until she came to the seat Amy had been at, next to Jean. Tsuna sat down all the while eying Jean to make sure he didn't show any signs of annoyance. Tsuna was torn between being relieved and upset when he didn't even seem to notice her. She folded her hands neatly in front of her, her eyes not once leaving the side of Jean's face. Suddenly he turned his head towards her and their gazes met. Tsuna hastily turned away as she had been staring and her face blushed.

"Can I ask you something?" Jean said and Tsuna met his intense gaze again. She was once again enraptures by his looks.

"Sure-"

"Attention!" Shadis had returned and was now standing in the doorway of the mess hall. Daniel groaned and Tsuna gave Jean an apologetic look. "Today's training will be on ODM, you will be graded and today's results will be used to help decide graduation placement. You have 10 minutes to suit up and be ready" Shadis finished and turned to walk out.

"Ask me tonight, after training okay?" Tsuna said to Jean as she walked off, turning so she stayed facing him and had to walk backwards.

"Yea" He said, standing and looking like he wanted to say more but Tsuna had already turned and was walking off with Daniel. Jean settled with joining Sasha and Connie as they also left the mess hall. The two were talking about something but Jean couldn't hear what over his thoughts. Tsuna skipped towards the Barracks so she could get her gear and uniform, Daniel kept pace with her short legs at a somewhat fast walk. They saw Hiro and Allen walking a few steps ahead and Tsuna decided she would join them. Daniel, somewhat reluctantly, followed Tsuna and ended up next to Hiro who avoided looking his way.

"Don't be so uptight" Daniel said with a friendly nudge to Hiro's shoulder "if Tsuna said its okay, then I have no reason to hold a grudge for her." Hiro let out a breath at Daniel's words and offered him a small smile. Daniel chuckled and nudged his shoulder again. Tsuna smiled to herself, happy that her friends were getting along and that Daniel had been mature enough to make peace. The four of them made their way to the barracks and got ready before heading out to the main training grounds where most of their fellow 105 trainees were waiting. After a couple more minutes the rest of the trainees had gathered and Shadis lead them off to the forest where they were going to practice ODM. Tsuna noticed that the Survey corps members were walking next to Shadis, who was riding his horse. She decided she would go walk with them since Daniel, Allen and Hiro were busy arguing about who was best at ODM. Daniel insisted that Tsuna and he were better than Hiro and Allen, and Hiro was insisting that he and his boyfriend were better than Daniel. Tsuna snickered internally at the fact that Hiro only said they were better than Daniel, and apparently Daniel noticed too because he started whining and pouting about it. She headed over to the Survey corps members and before she could catch up to Jean and Connie, a blonde boy turned and smiled at her.

"You must be Tsuna" He said and Tsuna almost looked around her before remembering she was Tsuna and the boy was talking to her.

"Uh, yea, I'm her" she replied somewhat confused. "Who're you?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Armin" he said gesturing to himself and Tsuna noticed that the boy and girl that were with Armin this morning were still with him. "And this is Eren" he gestured to the dark haired boy who offered a smile and wave "and Mikasa" Armin gestured further over towards the girl. Tsuna decided that she was pretty and looked relatively tough. The girl offered a nod and small smile.

"Hello" Tsuna said with a wave and smile. She thought to herself that it was weird that he knew her name before ever talking to her. It's possible that Jean, Connie, Sasha or maybe even Reiner or Bertolt had told her but they had been mostly in vision range the past two days and Tsuna hadn't really seen too much mingling between Reiner and Bertolt, besides with the freckled girl, and the blond boy had only gotten here late last night so it couldn't have been Jean and them considering that they were asleep when he had gotten here and they had been with Tsuna or her friends the entire day so far.

"We heard some people talking about you and they said you were pretty good at ODM. Shadis had also mentioned there was a girl here who might beat Mikasa's score and we figured it was you." He said somewhat excitedly, a smile on his face the whole time.

"Me? I don't think so. I'm not that good" Tsuna said waving her hand in the air as to swat the idea out of their heads. "I'm better in the classroom, I've heard of you too" she said to Armin "apparently you're a genius." She had heard about him but she didn't know that _this_ blond boy was him. The 104th trainees' squad had a few outstanding pupils that the 105 members heard about every so often. It was kinda like a mockery, a challenge that the officers put out there to push the 105 to be better. Whether or not they actually _could_ be better was a different question.

"Well that's what they say" Armin said embarrassingly. Tsuna noted that he must have relatively low self-confidence.

"Well, it was nice meeting you guys" Tsuna gave them another wave, Armin waved back, Eren gave her a grin and Mikasa nodded again before Tsuna walked ahead towards Jean and Connie. She didn't think they had noticed them yet so she got an idea. She started walking more sneakily behind them. Sasha turned back towards her in a stretch and she blinked at Tsuna who put her finger to her lips in a 'shh' way. Sasha nodded with a grin and turned around. Thankfully neither of the other two had noticed her. Sasha was on the right, Connie in the middle and Jean was on the left. Tsuna picked up her pace, still trying to be as sneaky as possible, before she lunged forward and grabbed onto the sides of her victim. The scream quickly turned into laughter and Connie tried turning around as best he could to see the culprit of the sneak attack. Jean had nearly jumped out of his pants and Sasha burst into laughter. Tsuna continued gently squeezing Connie's sides as he tried desperately to get her to stop. Tsuna did stop when she saw tears of laughter, or possibly from the torture, form in his eyes. He took a step away from her and started panting. Sasha was still laughing when she walked up to Tsuna, giving her a high-five and 'nice one'. Tsuna chuckled. Connie turned to look at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"Whoo. That was a good one. I'll make sure to get you back" he said with a grin. Tsuna laughed at that.

"You're welcome to try" She challenged. Connie grinned and Tsuna had about two seconds to think before she felt hands on her own sides. She tried to hold down the laughter and keep a straight face but laughter quickly spewed from her mouth she threw her head back and pulled at the hands torturing her sides. She heard a chuckle from behind her that she was pretty sure belonged to Jean. "Okay, okay! I give!" she said trying to get him to stop but to no avail. She gripped onto his forearms and started kicking. He easily supported her weight and continued the torture. "Okay, I get it" she said in between laughter "stop, stop" more laughter "okay, please" more uncontrollable laughter. The torture continued a few seconds longer before the tickling stopped and Jean's hands only held her in place where she had jumped in an attempt to get away. Connie had his hands on his knees laughing and Sasha wasn't far from a similar state. Behind her she heard Jean chuckling before she felt her feet touch the ground. "That was cruel" she turned to pout at him but instead of looking ashamed he just laughed. Tsuna turned away to hide her grin.

"That's what you get miss '_you're welcome to try_'" Connie said before bursting into laughter again.

"You didn't even get me back, that was Jean" Tsuna said with a huff.

"That was teamwork" Connie said and when he saw Tsuna's glare he only laughed more. Tsuna gave him a 'whatever' and started walking again. The other's easily caught up to her and her short legs, Connie and Sasha letting out small chuckles every once and a while. Tsuna felt a small throb in her sides, she thought to herself that they may bruise and decided she would check up on it after training. She noticed that Jean was staring at her with a dorky grin on his face and she gave him an inquisitive look.

"Your laugh" he started and Tsuna was expecting some kind of diss "is really cute." Well there's a shocker. Tsuna blushed at his bluntness and looked at the ground.

"Th-thank you" she said shyly. Tsuna decided that while his comment was unexpected, it was much better than what she anticipated. Jean's grin grew at Tsuna's words and he thought it was endearing that she got embarrassed so easily, and he thought it was a plus because he liked seeing her blush. Tsuna realized that Hiro's request about giving Jean a chance was going to be a lot easier to fulfill than expected because Jean was quite likeable. He was handsome and kind and seemed to have a decent sense of humor, she found him easy to be around and she really enjoyed his presence. Neither of them noticed Sasha and Connie slowing down and giggling, whispering things like 'cute couple' and 'go get her'. Jean and Tsuna had become quiet, Jean was trying to think of something to say but nothing seems right. He let out a small sigh of frustration and nervousness. Tsuna on the other hand was internally freaking out about 'he thinks I'm weird' and thinking out the possible ways she could end up becoming more weird and making things awkward.

"So, uh, I guess we get to see if you're as good as people say you are." Jean finally said, internally cursing himself for being lame. Tsuna was startled out of her panic. "Since you're being graded and all it's not like you could fake sucking."

"Oh, yea I guess not. Don't set your standards too high though" she gave a nervous chuckle. Jean smiled at her adorable awkwardness. A few moments later, Shadis stopped the group and started listing off groups of trainees. This way, instead of _all_ of the trainees going at once, groups of ten or so students would be tested at a time. Tsuna suddenly became nervous, normally she would be just fine with tests or training but more than one of the Survey corps members has been very blunt about their interest in her skills and she was pretty sure that that meant that there would be more than just instructors focusing their attention on her. If she messed up, there would be even _more_ people there to see it and at least one of those people would be Jean and she didn't want to mess up in front of him for some reason. She sighed and prepared herself for the worst as she stood next to Jean waiting to be assigned to a group.


	5. Update

Just wanted to fill people in on why it's taking so long for the update. The story is not on hiatus and I am working on the next chapter. So, sorry this isn't a chapter (for anyone reading this) but I thought I would let readers know that I've been busy with studies and homework but I _am_ working on the story. I should have the next chapter up soon. Thank you for reading!


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